German Agencies Banned From Using Facebook, 'Like' Button

German data watchdogs on Friday ordered federal agencies to shut down their Facebook pages and remove "like" buttons from their Web sites, suggesting that anyone who uses Facebook will have their online activity tracked.

"All institutions in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany [must] shut down their fan pages on Facebook and remove social plug-ins such as the 'like'-button from their Web sites," the German Data Protection Commissioner’s Office said in a statement. "Whoever visits facebook.com or uses a plug-in must expect that he or she will be tracked by the company for two years."

After "thorough and legal analysis," the commission said it concluded that Facebook and its "like" button violates Germany's Telemedia Act and its Federal Data Protection Act because data is transferred to the U.S. and Web analytics are sent to Web site owners. Facebook's privacy statement "does not nearly meet the legal requirements relevant for compliance of legal notice, privacy consent and general terms of use," the agency said.

German agencies have until the end of September to stop using Facebook for official business. Failure to do so could result in fines. Commissioner Thilo Weichert said in a statement that those agencies "cannot shift their responsibility for data privacy" to Facebook or the user.

Facebook, however, denied that its activity was in violation of any EU laws.

"We firmly reject any assertion that Facebook is not compliant with EU data protection standards," the company said in a statement. "The Facebook Like button is such a popular feature because people have complete control over how their information is shared through it. For more than a year, the plugin has brought value to many businesses and individuals every day. We will review the materials produced by the ULD, both on our own behalf and on the behalf of web users throughout Germany."

The commission said today's ban is "only the beginning of a continuing privacy impact analysis of Facebook applications." It also advised people to "keep their fingers from clicking on social plug-ins such as the 'like'-button and not to set up a Facebook account if they wish to avoid a comprehensive profiling by this company."

This is not the first time German officials have tangled with Facebook or other tech giants. Earlier this month, German data protection officials requested that Facebook and delete any previously stored data. Last year, Johannes Caspar, head of data protection in Hamburg also  into how Facebook handles the personal information of people who are not a part of the social networking site.

In May, Google also of enlarging its Street View program within Germany. Last year, to extend Street View to 20 German cities by year's end, including Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Nuremburg, and Düsseldorf. For those who did not want photos of their homes included in Street View, Google gave people until Sept. 15 to notify the company via google.de/streetview. In all, of having their homes on Street View. But continuing in the country apparently wasn't worth the effort.