I’ve reported several instances where German data protection authorities have gone after American tech companies and seemingly been more protective of privacy than America. Here’s an article by Heather Horn in The Atlantic about it all:
When it comes to conflicts with American tech companies, Germany is the anti-China. The Chinese government wanted Google to censor search results and (depending on whose version you believe) keep quiet when government hackers stole individuals’ information for control purposes.
Germany, by contrast, is ambivalent about companies like Google and Facebook having all that information in the first place. Not only is the German government uninterested in exploiting the companies’ tools for Big Brother purposes, it wants to keep Big Brother tools out of circulation in general.
Read more on The Atlantic.