Everything that changes in Germany in February 2019
From higher taxes to healthier products, we look at what changes when January becomes February on Friday.
Don’t use new WhatsApp sick note service, German doctors advise
A Hamburg startup has started offering people who’ve picked up a cold the chance to buy a sick note without visiting a doctor. But medical associations are concerned about the business venture.
German car parts giant bans WhatsApp and Snapchat from work phones
German car parts supplier Continental on Tuesday said it was banning the use of WhatsApp and Snapchat on work-issued mobile phones "with immediate effect" because of data protection concerns.
Saarmojis: Saarland the ‘first German state with its own emojis’
Saarland unveiled some 400 of its own emojis, so-called ‘Saarmojis,’ on Tuesday in Saarbrücken.
New law allows police to spy on encrypted messaging services
Germany on Thursday passed a controversial new law that expands the power of authorities to spy on the content of encrypted message services such as WhatsApp and Skype.
'Germany for the Germans': explosive WhatsApp leaks pile pressure on AfD
A leaked WhatsApp chat in which the Alternative for Germany's (AfD) state leader in Saxony-Anhalt used a neo-Nazi slogan has forced the party to defend itself against renewed accusations of extremism.
Germany blocks WhatsApp data transfers to Facebook
German data protection authorities on Tuesday said they had blocked Facebook from collecting subscriber data from its subsidiary WhatsApp, citing privacy concerns.
WhatsApp warned for passing user phonebooks to Facebook
The Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) has threatened legal action against WhatsApp for passing on user information such as telephone numbers to Facebook, which new user terms permit it to do.
Speak German or face jail, court tells WhatsApp
The CEO of WhatsApp could face jail in Germany unless the company moves quickly to provide its terms and conditions in the German language, a recently-published court ruling shows.