Against the backdrop of widely reported data breaches, and with the September 2009 federal election drawing close, the German Parliament has voted for significant changes to existing data protection laws, including new requirements for credit checks, location tracking services, and telemarketing. Other amendments, including the introduction of U.S.-style data breach notification procedures and employee privacy rules, together with a prohibition on address trading without consent, are all under discussion. The following article summarizes recent privacy-related amendments in Germany, as well as a number of new developments that are in the pipeline.

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