In Germany, you register yourself and your address with a local authority. If you’re not registered, you can’t buy a car, get insurance, rent an apartment, get a passport.

Do pretty much anything.

The German Parliament passed a bill the other day (actually, a day on which the European Championships were being contested in Poland/Ukraine, resulting in a smattering of representatives in the House.)

The bill allows local authorities to sell the names, address and dates of birth of everyone in Germany to bulk mailers and their ilk.

At some stage, there was a clause in the bill requiring folk to opt IN.

Now we have to to opt OUT.

Except you can’t do that if your data has already been sold.

And opting out is a pain in the bum, with multiple hoops to be negotiated. (Only when the first of  the month is a Monday, coinciding with a full moon…)

The Government spokesman announced his dismay as if he was an innocent bystander “We’ll obviously have to fix this” he said, looking as concerned as only a spin doctor can.

But who wrote the bill in the first place?

Not one of those lobbyist outsourced legal practices, by any chance?

No, didn’t think so…