German Official Takes Issue With Apple's Data Compiling: Via NYT > Privacy.

BERLIN — The justice minister of Germany on Monday expressed concern over Apple’s practice of compiling data on users of its new iPhone, as the smartphone maker became the latest U.S. technology giant to fall afoul of the country’s strict privacy laws.

The minister, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, asked Apple to inform state data protection officials about the kind of information the company had been gathering on individual iPhone users in Germany, how long the data was being stored and for what purpose.

“Apple has the obligation to properly implement the transparency so often promised by Steve Jobs,” Ms. Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said, referring to the Apple chief executive, in an interview with the magazine Der Spiegel.

An Apple spokeswoman, Bethan Lloyd, said the company was working on a response. In the user manual for the new phone circulated in Germany, Apple says it reserves the right to forward data like the geographic location of individuals to other companies.

The latest version of the company’s smartphone, the iPhone 4, went on sale in Germany on Thursday. Under German law, the mere act of collecting personal data without an individual’s permission, whether it be geographic location or web traffic, is illegal.

German privacy laws are among the strictest in Europe, giving individuals , including convicted felons, virtually total control over the use of their personal information.

Several Internet companies, like Google, Facebook, and now Apple, have become ensnared in German regulations as they attempt to bring business models which rely in part on the use of private information. On June 6, the German consumer protection minister, Ilse Aigner, threatened Facebook with fines if the company did not improve the protection of information provided by German users of the social networking site. Ms. Aigner also said she planned to delete her own Facebook entry.

At the request of a data protection supervisor in Hamburg, Google in May disclosed that it had improperly collected 600 gigabytes of personal data, including fragments of e-mails and unencrypted passwords, on individuals around the world as it scanned home Wi-Fi networks during a gathering of information for its Street View map archive.

The disclosure has set off investigations in 12 countries and territories, including Germany, the United States, France and Spain. European regulators are pressing the company to hand over the data it improperly collected on their citizens.

Ulrich Staudigl, a spokesman for the German justice minister, said Apple must comply with local privacy laws. But Mr. Staudigl emphasized that Ms. Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger had not threatened to fine Apple in her interview but had merely asked the company to inform state officials. Privacy laws are enforced at the state level in Germany.

Stefan Köpsell, an instructor in data protection at the Technical University in Dresden, said that Apple could probably settle the controversy surrounding the iPhone 4 by having German users give their consent prior to the data being forwarded.

“I think there is probably a fundamental conflict between some Internet business models and German privacy law,” Mr. Köpsell said. “But in general, evidence shows that most Germans are willing to participate if there’s a benefit.”

For example, 60 percent of households in Germany use a retail bonus card called Payback, owned by Loyalty Partner of Munich, which gives them points that can be used toward future purchases. By participating, consumers have given the company the right to collect and market data on their purchasing habits, as well as target them with advertising. “I would think the same would be possible for Apple,” Mr. Köpsell said.

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