German US Terror Info Pact to Share Sexy Details
When Germany and the US recently signed a bilateral agreement (more…) allowing them to swap data on terror suspects, civil rights activists accused the deal of violating German privacy laws. Now union leaders and opposition politicians are up in arms after it has been revealed that the agreement clears the way for sharing very personal information — including data on a suspect’s sex life.
SPIEGEL has learned that the agreement contains a passage that foresees the exchange of data about a suspect’s “racial or ethnic origin, political views, religious and other beliefs or membership of a union,” should they be relevant in the fight against criminality or terrorism. Data relating to the “health and sex life” of a suspect can also be shared.
The passage in question has elicited a strong reaction from union representatives. The head of Germany’s Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB), Michael Sommer, said he considers it “the height of impertinence that the government can pass on information about the union membership of German citizens to the US.”
Gisela Piltz, spokesperson on domestic politics for the business-friendly Free Democratic Party, also condemned the agreement, saying that she could not understand what sexual orientation could have to do with acts of terrorism.