The strongest opinion so far came from Stuttgart news. "The sniffer post sits like a spider in German network," wrote DieZeitung on Monday. There will be even "leak Facebook pale envy". This sounds as if, after misuse of data on Facebook, Deutsche Post would relentlessly personal data from citizens to Dritteverhökern. But scandal evoked by some media istübertrieben – and comparison with Facebook is simply wrong.
What happened? On weekend Berichtetedie picture on Sunday, CDU and FDPhätten in Bundestag election campaign 2017 each paid a five-digit amount to company Deutsche Post Direkt GmbH, a subsidiary company DerDeutschen Post. On basis of analysis of road-specific data from households, parties had specifically sent out election advertising or made house campaigns. Both CDU and FDP confirmed that y had ordered mass mailings. What time online by way Bereitsim reported last September.
First of all, a look at data it is about: on website of Deutsche Post directly, DieRede is of around 46 million "quality addresses" that partners need for "successful customer acquisition". These address datawith are paired up to 150 "statistical and PersonenbezogenenSelektionsmerkmalen". What sounds cryptically means concretely: this is about information on purchasing power, banking behaviour, gender, age, education, housing, family structure and car ownership of citizens.
Statistical values instead of personal detailsAt request of time online, a spokesman for Deutsche Post stated that address holdings were specifically collected by Swiss Post Direkt GmbH. They would have nothing to do with postal services. All or features of analysis did not contain any personal data (or than website suggests). It was explicitly about probability calculations referring to microcells on average 6, 6Haushalten. Deutsche Post obtains se statistical data directly from publicly available sources. Statements about purchasing power and purchasing behaviour in a region would come from Federal Statistical office and "anonymized transaction data from Internet trade". The insurance and banking behaviour could be determined by market and opinion Research.
As far as passenger car affinity is concerned, Federal Motor Vehicle Office is aware of this. About it, wiegroß on average plots in an area are Land registry. Both offices pass on this information. and statistical data on private lifestyles and life views, company obtains a micro-geographical analysis called Sinus geo-milieu.
Both Swiss Post as AuchCDU and FDP quickly stated that all data were processed anonymously in accordance with Demdeutschen data protection. This means, among or things, that mail directly did not create any letters from individual citizens or households and sold m to parties (or or customers). Orwise company would have made a criminal offence. Instead, statistical values are stored in an internal database without a specific reference to persons. "Wher se statistical approximations, for example in relation to a particular buying behavior, actually apply to persons in Microcell is unknown," said speaker time online.
The comparison with Facebook is wrongAn invented example: statistically collected data could show that in a suburb of Hamburg apparently above average many older people with PhD titles live on large plots with two cars. It is apparently more prosperous undmöglicherweise also more liberal and Conservative citizens. A customer like FDPkönnte use this knowledge, possibly paired with results of last elections, to send a promotional brochure to all residents in this microcell (Mailingpublications n takes over a so-called Lettershop, which FDP itself receives KeineAdressdaten). The party would not even have to know wher company is in Street X and is driving a car of brand Z to make a statistical statement about DasWählerverhalten.
© Jakob Börner eike Cooling Editor at digital department, time online for author pageThis is crucial difference to data scandal on Facebook: Here users and users gave access to ir own profile and profiles of ir friends via an app from a later business partner of analysis firm Cambridge Analytica. The data contained personal information such as age, relationship status, place of residence and education, private photos and preferences inform of likes – all connected to real name in many cases. It was not a statistical approach. The data were also collected under false conditions: y were presumably collected for scientific purposes, later aberunrechtmäßig resold. Facebook is in criticism because company has not prevented this.
Date Of Update: 04 April 2018, 12:03
