The German government pushed back on the call to shut down the Facebook page

BERLIN — The German government on Monday pushed back against a demand by the country’s data protection commissioner to remove its Facebook page over data privacy concerns.

The commissioner, Ulrich Kelber, said on Wednesday that he had given the government press office four weeks to close the page.

“All public agencies have a responsibility to uphold the law in an exemplary manner,” Kelber said. “The result of my assessments is that it is currently impossible when running a fan page due to the extensive processing of users’ personal data.”

He argued that the people who run such pages on Facebook and the owner of the social network, Meta, are equally responsible for what is done with the personal data of users, and that the government has not verified that the principles of data protection – a deeply held concern in Germany – are followed.

The government will use the coming weeks to scrutinize Kelber’s decision and decide on its next steps, spokesman Wolfgang Büchner said.

“We are of the opinion that Facebook alone is responsible for the processing of its data under data protection law,” he told reporters in Berlin. He added that getting legal clarification is important for all concerned.

“From our perspective, our presence on Facebook is an important part of our public relations work that we want to continue at the moment,” said Büchner. He argues that social media also offers an important platform to prevent disinformation directly in times of crisis.