The headline sounds like an official government statement but then this guy is no one I ever heard of and the only quote I could find does not even mention the word Stasi.
American surveillance (literally: compulsive checking) goes definitely to far if
it interferes that much with the privacy of internet users. Something like this is
unthinkable here. I thought we had overcome this era with the downfall of the DDR.
It is just ridiculous what they made out of this (unless I just failed to find the complete statement).
Well, he is a member of the European Parliament, so there's that. Most MEPs aren't very widely know, though, even compared to members of the national assemblies. They also have the luxury of being in a sort of permanent opposition against national governments and the more powerful parts of the EU government.
I agree that the story is overblown, although the concern about the whole thing in Germany and all of Europe is obviously very real and hopefully will turn into a greater concern over what our own governments are doing. I hope a lot of conservatives are caught finger pointing in the next few days, if nothing else just to see them squirm when they're supposed to wave through the next set of laws curtailing internet freedom.
