Germany Makes it Illegal to Hit the 'Like' Button on Facebook

This might sound really weird to some. How would you like it, if your government controls where you place your fingers or assorted pointers and makes sure that you keep it away from Facebook's Like button?

Well, it is happening in Germany.

The German state of Schleswig-Holstein has ordered all government offices to remove the Facebook's Like button from their Web presence and shut down all Fan pages, stating that these things violate German and European data privacy laws reported Cnet News.

The Independent Centre of Privacy protection gave out a press release claiming that when a user Likes something on a page, Facebook gets that information in U.S., and collecting that data creates a profile, all of which runs against Germany's uberstrict privacy laws.

The agency also encouraged its German Residents to avoid any temptation to Like something on Facebook and avoid facebook altogether in order to prevent any comprehensive profiling by the company.

Whoever visits facebook.com or uses a plug-in must expect that he or she will be tracked by the company for two years, reads an English version of the release, the report said.

However, Facebook denies the claims made by the agency, adding that it had made attempts to work with German authorities regarding their privacy concerns, and that the case of Schleswig-Holsteing is an outlier.

Patrick Noyes Facebook spokesman issued the following statement:

We firmly reject any assertion that Facebook is not compliant with EU data protection standards. The Facebook Like button is such a popular feature because people have complete control over how their information is shared through it. For more than a year, the plugin has brought value to many businesses and individuals every day. We will review the materials produced by the (Independent Centre for Privacy Protection), both on our own behalf and on the behalf of Web users throughout Germany.

The whole issue seems to be taking a serious turn, it needs to be watched in time, as to wins the verbal battle.