[HIB]Despite Privacy Inquiries, Germans Flock to G

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Chenchao Liu has 446 friends on Facebook, loves his iPhone 3GS and is obsessed with Google searches and maps. In that respect, Mr. Liu, 21, is like many American college students. But Mr. Liu lives in Germany, a country whose strict data protection laws have spurred inquiries into the practices of Facebook, Apple and Google — the companies responsible for the products and services he enjoys. He is one of the millions of users who have helped make the offerings successful in Germany. “I think many people in Germany, especially those in my age group, do not have as many problems with data protection as the regulators are making out,” said Mr. Liu, who studies chemistry at Technical University in Munich. “What it all comes down to is personal responsibility. No one is forcing anyone to use any of these services.”

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