[mr_mitm]

Germans have diffuse fears of new technology. Many of us are skeptical whenever it comes to new gadgets, especially if the risk of being tracked or spied on plays a role. Eventually most people level out and get it anyway, like the cell phone, the smart phone, credit cards, Google/Apple pay, etc. Not sure if our history has something to do with it so that many feel uneasy about giving away too much control about our personal data, but maybe it does.

[est31]

> Not sure if our history has something to do with it so that many feel uneasy about giving away too much control about our personal data, but maybe it does.

Germany has seen two dictatorships in the last century. The first one was more brutal, but the second one maintained a gigantic spying apparatus on its citizens, that took a large fraction of the state's budget.

[inglor_cz]

Germany is not unique in this regard. The entire central Europe shared the same fate.

[mhd]

What's your level of comparison here? Japan? New economies?

If you contrast it with the US, you'll find some technologies earlier in use in Germany, like texting, and some stuff that just went different (credit vs. debit cards). And talk to someone from the US or even the UK about mandatory ID cards, and you'll hear different things about privacy.

I think this specifically is mostly to blame on bureaucracy and the federal system, not a reflection of general German luddism. Nobody really wants fax machines.