RT reports the Bundestag has passed a law allowing the government to sell citizens’ personal data on an opt-out basis, causing 120,000 people to sign a petition to appeal the law. One grievance with the law is that it passed in 57 seconds without debate--and six minutes into the European Football Championships semi-finals game in which Germany played Italy. Hamburg Data Protection Officer Johannes Caspar questions whether the advertising and address-trade industries pushed for the law, adding, "There is no other way to explain why the preexisting draft law, which included an option requiring a citizen's consent, was changed. The previous draft was fine." The law now goes to the upper house of Parliament.
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