Exactly right. But I wouldn't be sure those who agreed to the new coalition agreement understand any of this. Germany's legislature is hopelessly clueless when

Exactly right. But I wouldn't be sure those who agreed to the new coalition agreement understand any of this. Germany's legislature is hopelessly clueless when it comes to tech stuff (and other matters). It also appears to me that even many who do understand the danger aren't thinking their stance through properly. We live in a data world now more than ever. Data is power, data can be used as a weapon. I'm completely against mass surveillance, the same way I'm against war. At the same time, if the EU forbids any data collection in that regard, even by private companies, then the ones producing and controlling this data will be the likes of the US and China without doubt. Already facial recognition is used in machine learning, to auto-verify IDs, to catch criminals on the run, and for all sorts of other purposes. This is part of a much larger problem. We're under surveillance not just by cameras but microphones in devices all over, satellites, the various sensors in our phones, digital payment, social media activity, and so forth. Heck, most EU citizens have "smart" meters monitoring their electricity use now, which have been found make the leaking of all sorts of private information possible. The internet makes it all possible and in all cases I know about governments have not been proactive in legislation making. A blanket ban seems like an absolutely helpless and populist "solution" to the problem.