Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - Baden-Württemberg's top data protection officer Stefan Brink has rejected criticism that data protection is slowing down progress. "Anyone who keeps saying that data protection is slowing them down runs the risk of decoupling digitization from the interests of the citizens," he told the "Schwäbische Zeitung" (Tuesday). "If, for example, the freedom of citizens is to be sacrificed in favor of more security, we have to object." It is an ugly signal when his authority is repeatedly placed in a corner where it has not belonged for decades. "We see ourselves as an advisory authority. We don't want to stop anyone in their enthusiasm, we want to represent the rights of the citizens," he told the newspaper at the end of his term.
For example, Tübingen's Lord Mayor Boris Palmer was stopped when he collected data from foreign citizens and classified them as dangerous. However, his authority, which now has 83 employees, can only work as an example.
Brink is often considered an uncomfortable critic of state politics. In mid-July he announced that he was leaving the office of state data protection officer after six years. However, there was no quarrel with the state government, he emphasized at the time. Most recently, he had presented a draft law for a transparency law. This is intended to put information available to the administration in a portal and thus be able to be shared better than before.
