Germany's consumer minister, who vowed to delete her Facebook account in protest at the networking site's privacy policies, called on July 12 for an Internet "honour coode" to protect personal data "We need an honour code... 10 golden rules-short, sharp and clear," Ilse Aigner told Die Welt daily in an interview.
"Such rules can only come from the Internet community. It would be good if users themselves made suggestions. We could base them on social networks that already have a 'etiquette'. "The Internet could become the pillory of the 21st century. The trend is worrying," added the minister.
Officials and campaigners in Germany called the service an invasion of privacy and a potential security risk.