Germany Shrieks At Google Datenkrake!

There’s nothing more entertaining than a bunch of ticked off Germans. The melodrama, the propaganda, the beer-fueled outrage spilling into their lederhosen; the last time Germany sounded this upset theyoh, never mind. Maybe the chants of “Datenkrake!” spawning from Google’s beta release of Chrome should be taken seriously after all.

See this tentacled sea beast? That’s the Datenkrake! (I’m fairly certain the explanation point is as required as the letters themselves, much like a tilde or an accent ague.) The Germans are relatively certain Google’s slimy paws are reaching into everything.

And, well, they kind of are.

Security concerns about Chrome reached national television in the country yesterday as the German government issued a warning:

“The Federal Office for Information Security warned internet users of the new browser Chrome. The application by the company Google should not be used for surfing the internet, as a spokesperson for the office told the Berliner Zeitung. It was said to be problematic that Chrome was distributed as an unfinished advance version. Furthermore it was said to be risky that user data is hoarded with a single vendor. With its search engine, email program and the new browser, Google now covers all important areas on the internet.”

At least that’s what the news said, reports Philipp Lenssen, whose translation’s a few levels better than Google’s own. Lenssen was skeptical the government issued the warning though, and couldn’t find it on the official webpage. Lenssen’s is perhaps the coolest head you’ll find, though.
Johnny Haeusler writes of the situation this way (according to Google Translate):

“. . .who still has not recognized what Google really is: The evil Datenkrake. This realization has now reached every Stammtisch, and so does the male expert at the next table his new flame not only with the cheapest phone and DSL tariff, but also skillfully presented with the warning to impress that you better not use Google. Because they know everything about you.”

Someone echoes in the comments section: “I think Google has changed the ass.”

Paul Glazowski can help us out. Though he has a hunch fears might be overblown a little, he understands the government’s worry. “The Chrome project aggregates pretty much every concern into one quick install. Naturally the whistle gets blown. This time from Germany’s own BSI (Federal Office for Information Security). The issue of security can really only be compounded by the fears of a one-stop shop for both corporation and criminal.”

In the States, shortly after the premature launch, the Electronic Frontier Foundation expressed similar (calmer sounding) worries about Google’s plan to store around two percent of the data collected via Omnibox, the combination URL bar and search engine bar adorning the top of Chrome.

“We’re worried that Chrome will be another giant conveyer belt moving private information about our use of the Web into Google’s data vaults,” said EFF staff technologist Peter Eckersley. “Google already knows far too much about what everybody is thinking at any given moment.”

That Incognito mode, though, he and the EFF think is pretty swell. Interestingly, one of Google’s star bloggers didn’t mention that two-percent thing storage thing.