According to an article in Der Spiegel, Does Google Know Too Much?, many in Germany are concerned with Google’s broad range of information gathering.

Google gathers so much detailed information about its users that one critic says some state intelligence bureaus look “like child protection services” in comparison. A few German government bodies have mounted a resistance.

I liked the accompanying graphic that shows Google’s many services.

Thilo Weichert, head of Schleswig-Holstein’s Independent State Agency for
Data Protection, has issued a public warning about Google Analytics, the
system that many web site owners use to collect aggregate information about
their visitors.

“Most users of the product aren’t entirely aware that by operating Google
Analytics they’re utilizing a service that transfers data to the United
States, to be broadly used and exploited,” he has written. “This violates
the data privacy laws protecting those who use the Web sites.” Google
reacted with a letter to the governor of Schleswig-Holstein, warning of
economic losses and demanding that Weichert be called off his attack.

Such reactions only incite Weichert. “The company operates in an
unacceptably non-transparent manner,” he says. “Their users are basically
standing naked in front of them, and Google itself discloses only what is
absolutely necessary assure.”