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Our press release from Jan. 20 has found quite an echo in the media. But also official authorities have reacted. We’d like to highlight the latest relevant press release from the Unabhaengiges Landeszentrum fuer Datenschutz Schleswig-Holstein (Independent State Centre for Data Protection of Schleswig-Holstein). But we are far from satified. And as of today (Feb. 1) hundreds of thousands of fans will pass on their data through the internet to apply for tickets.
As before, fans have to give away far too much data when they want to apply for a ticket.
The only required data should be first and last name, street address or p.o. box [1], additional address data (optional), post code, place, “over 18” as yes/no checkbox, information about payment, and optionally phone and/or fax number and/or e-mail address.
What on no account belongs on an application in private economy is:
Passport data, date of birth, obligation to give a street address in addition to a p.o. box number, nationality and which national team one supports.
[1] We’ll go into more detail later.
What has been changed already is that applicants now have to give their explicit consent to sharing of their data with third parties. This consent, while looking quite good at first sight, has at least two catches where what looks like voluntary action becomes flawed:
If applicants want to get further information from the DFB (German Football Association) and give their consent to DFB’s own marketing measures, they at the same time are obliged to give their consent that their data may be shared with FIFA and the sponsors, and thus may go to other countries, even. There is no provision for any differenciation. It also cannot be excluded that data may be shared with big address marketers or “scoring” firms.
Below the field where applicants are supposed to tick off their consent to sharing of data under the heading “Acceptance of the Ticketing General Terms and Conditions (GTC)” it says: “Please note that your acceptance is required for your application to be processed further.”
In terms of data protection legislation, this sentence is totally free of sense, in our opinion (because the storing of such data is regulated by law), but it will probably lead to 98 % of applicants seeing themselves forced to tick the consent check box if they really want to have a chance to get at a ticket.
The DFB in its “Data Protection Rules” reserves the right to share all statements (apart from payment and passport data) with other – as yet unknown – servicers in the future. This means that applicants have no way of knowing to whom their data will go in times to come. There can be no talk of informational self-determination as the Bundesverfassungsgericht (the Supreme Court of Germany) demands it.
In the meantime it has become known that only applicants for tickets from the “free sales” contingent will have to undergo this degrading information-giving procedure. Of so-called VIPs (15,000 Euros per seat), “it can’t be expected” to submit themselves to this. Also tickets that will go to the “football family” will not be personalised (source: German newspaper “Sportbild”).
Who ever has a payed and valid ticket must gain entrance to the stadium. Thus, DFB-officials have said in tv interviews that fans “are asked to have their passports with them”, or, more paternalistically, “would be well advised to have their passports with them”.
In our opinion the construction of all this surveillance infrastructre can be traced right back to sponsor Philips’ wish to use the 2006 World Cup as a gigantic advertising venue for its surveillance technology. We are not very much opposed to advertising, but where it endangers freedom, democracy and security, there’s an end to the fun.
The data on the chips may not be “personalised”. But with the help of the unique serial number of the individual chip they can be traced back to the individual.
The current questionnaire does not allow for a p.o. box address.
The date of birth is irrelevant for an application. Since tickets can only be ordered by people over 18, a sentence like: “With my signature I declare that I am over 18 years of age” would be sufficient. Asking dates of birth in simple order forms is not covered by data protection legislation (which is why the Deutsche Bahn AG – German railways – is not allowed to ask for them in applications for their “Bahncard” customers’ cards.). Such dates only serve for easier marketing segmentation of customers (“The better to eat you with!”).
We regard this question as one of the most dangerous ones, all the more so if combined with the question “which national team do you support”. - How thoughtless can you get, in Germany of all places, to ask such a question, evaluate the answers, and want to share them with others?
We gladly await your questions:
FoeBuD e.V.
Marktstrasse 18
D-33602 Bielefeld, Germany
Tel: +49-521-175254
Fax: +49-521-61172
Mail: presse@foebud.org
Contacts:
Rena Tangens and padeluun
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