Germany's privacy laws are pretty special and predate the EU. Privacy of post and telecommunication has been in the Federal constitution from the start (articl

Germany's privacy laws are pretty special and predate the EU. Privacy of post and telecommunication has been in the Federal constitution from the start (article 10; the constitution took effect in 1949 and the consisted of articles 1-18) and basically say that the privacy of communication over a distance is inviolable. The courts have interpreted this privacy as applying not only to the carrier, but also as a duty each end of the communication has to the other. I understand that if someone outside Germany were to call me (in Germany), I could not legally record the conversation until I had informed you of what I was about to do. Cf. (in fairly straightforward German) http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gg/art_10.html http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gg/art_10.html