Data protectionist whistles SBB back
Until now, anyone using the free WLAN in train stations had to expect SBB to use their cell phone data - to "personally address the customer" with advertising information. Under pressure from data protection advocate Hanspeter Thür, the railroad is now backing down.
SBB is adapting its general terms and conditions. "We have deleted the clause stating that SBB also uses the data for marketing purposes," confirms spokesperson Christian Ginsig in response to an inquiry from Handelszeitung. Since the service was introduced, it has never been used for advertising calls or advertising emails anyway. However, SBB still claims to use the usage data to analyze commuter flows - but in anonymized form. The data protection officer carried out an inspection at SBB in February and objected to their general terms and conditions. Thür also pointed out the data protection problem to SBB CEO Andreas Meyer in a personal conversation. It is still unclear whether the federal company has already fulfilled all of the data protection authority's requirements with its amendments to the GTC. The final report will be published in a few weeks.
