Pragmatic solution beats legal and organizational regulations: Two examples

Many problems seem surprisingly insoluble. For example, the IHK Wiesbaden holds the opinion that every forced member must equally be forced to endure election campaigning by mail or e-mail. So much for the legal example, which follows. Another considered example is the impossibility of wanting to have one's own Google MyBusiness entry removed. There is a way out for both problems.

Introduction

The motivation for this post was something I would like to call absurdity. It's about election campaigning by email that cannot be turned off. In addition, the creator of the election campaign, a candidate for the IHK plenary assembly election, has done more than just the allegedly allowed election campaigning. More on that below. Just one thing in advance: theoretically, you would have to endure an infinite number of advertising emails prescribed by law!

In connection with that, a previous problem came back to mind at a completely different location. I had set up a Google MyBusiness account for my company back then. At the time, I thought it would bring something. Then I realized that this MyBusiness account first brings nothing and secondly even causes trouble. That's why I wanted to delete the account again. But Google refused this possibility.

Here's how I was able to solve both problems, which you'll soon find out. Maybe you're one of those people who let everything go or think that when you delete an email, the problem is solved. I'm not one of those kinds of people, but instead of just seeing problems where they are, I also look for solutions.

Forced preservation of election advertising via email

What sounds like a fairy tale is reality in Germany: Yes, you can be forced to receive election advertising by email. The law is, in my opinion, unlawful, but it's there anyway.

There is an IHK law (IHKG) in § 9 (6) IHKG:

Applicants and candidates for election to the full assembly according to § 5 may be transmitted by applicants and election advertising by candidates name, company, address, e-mail address and economic sector to voters from their respective electoral group, provided that the recipient of the data has committed themselves against the transmitting public body to process the data only for the purpose for which they were transmitted to him. Applicants and candidates have the transmitted data to be deleted immediately after the election is held.

Article 9, paragraph 6 of the International Humanitarian Law Guidelines

It is allegedly allowed that the IHK Wiesbaden sends my membership data including my email addresses to all candidates for the election to the plenary assembly. Likewise, the IHK Wiesbaden says it is also permitted for these candidates to use my email address to send me campaign mail via email. The same applies by post.

Election advertising by mail

I actually received an email with campaign advertising from one of the candidates. In this email several things stood out. These are the following things that will be documented here with hopefully anonymized screenshots from the campaign email:

The candidate describes the website of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) Wiesbaden as his own website. This is objectively incorrect. On the IHK website, the imprint shows that the website does not belong to the candidate. Similarly, the so-called "Cookie Popup" on the IHK website, which I incidentally consider to be unlawful, shows that the website belongs to IHK Wiesbaden.

By designating "IHK Wiesbaden: Service economy as small business", the impression is strengthened that it is a mail from IHK Wiesbaden. The same applies to the subject of the email, which reads:

North Rhine-Westphalia state election 2024, Fynn X

Subject of the promotional email.

Then follows the main text, where I have highlighted some interesting places in red.

The mail is according to §9 (6) IHKG only allowed for the purpose of election campaigning. However, it is written in the We-form here (see several marked places). Similarly, it is signed with "Candidate + Team of the Company".

In passing, it should be noted that the Sender's address is not a personalized address but rather a collective email address. When writing to this address, one receives an autoresponder from the Ltd., not signed by the candidate.

At the end of the email follows a company statement without mentioning the candidate. A Ltd.-imprint, if it is one, contains however besides the company name and address also the entry in the commercial register as well as the name of the managing director.

A candidate's email, on the other hand, contains no Ltd. imprint.

The mail was used via a service provider for newsletter delivery. The mail contained a Tracking Pixel. Apparently the candidate wants to know if I have read or opened the mail.

No Alternative?

Election advertising by mail is not necessary. Here's a comprehensive overview of the possibilities that the Chamber of Industry and Commerce currently uses to present the candidates:

1. IHK website with overview of all candidates: Very good, can stay. Don't bother anyone.
2. Election magazine by mail, together with election login: I don't have much against it, I'll just have to accept it.
3. Campaign advertising by candidates via email: Absolutely unnecessary and – I say – largely unlawful. Especially since there is no limit on the number of emails allowed.
4. Campaign advertising by candidates via mail: See 3, but not quite as unlawful. A contradiction possibility for me supposedly does not exist, which – I say – is sufficient for unlawfulness. Also there are no limits on the number of sent items here.

In total, the candidates also had sufficient advertising space with the first two publications. The IHK finds the idea interesting that candidates should present themselves in social media from the next election instead of sending campaign mail. I say: That's homoeopathically distributed scatter advertising without any effect.

At the election you really have many votes, almost as many as there are candidates. In my product category it's 27 votes. Who likes voting? I have other things to do, like getting worked up about such contributions…

The reaction of the Chamber of Commerce

I wrote a complaint to the IHK about receiving this email. Firstly, I have a problem with unwanted election advertising. Secondly, I have a problem when someone inserts company advertising into their election advertising.

The Chamber of Commerce Wiesbaden told me that the IHK Act would allow, for the purpose of election campaigning (and only for this reason), my email address to be passed on by the IHK to the candidates. I was unable to discuss with the conversation partner the difference between passing on an email address and using the forwarded email address. The Chamber's view is that I should be allowed to receive this election campaign via email.

OK. I have then not respected but accepted this. Now I wanted to object to the use of my email address for election campaigning. I had even objected to the forwarding of my email address by the IHK to third parties. The contact person at the IHK had told me, however, that I at least had this right. The gentleman from the IHK called me a total of twice to talk to me and explain the matter to me.

I was somewhat surprised, when I was informed that I had to endure election campaigning by email. I have no right to not receive election campaigning, neither by post nor by email. By the way, I would like to mention that I consider § 9 (6) of the IHKG to be unlawful.

There was no way out. I would therefore have to endure the worst-case scenario of 53 election campaign emails, namely one from each candidate, if they wanted to write me an email. If someone wanted to write more often, it would be even more. The IHKG does not prohibit that.

If my company were in a different "product category", I would have to endure emails from even more candidates. That reminds me: how often is it (allegedly) allowed for a candidate to write to me (before the election)? The IHKG says nothing about this.

I consider that Bullshit. The only way out was my following letter to the IHK Wiesbaden:

The answer came a few minutes later. My email address was deleted. End of the problem. Because where there is no email address, it can also not be passed on further. In five years, when the next election is, I hope that no election advertising will be sent by mail. Because then I will really be angry.

Anyway, that problem is almost solved. Because by mail I can still be sent election advertising against my will. Unfortunately, I cannot delete my address data at "my" Chamber of Commerce.

In addition, all candidates who want to send me an election campaign mail for this election can do so. My request that the IHK Wiesbaden inform these candidates that I do not wish to receive any election campaigning was blocked as being impermissible.

Google MyBusiness

Next example, which is however several years old already. Maybe the situation is different now. Whoever knows Google, knows that Google does everything to generate more revenue and only obeys laws when it can't be avoided or would be uneconomical not to obey them. Update: Apparently My Business in its former form no longer exists.

Google MyBusiness is supposedly a great way for businesses to create an online business card, which may then be displayed in search results when searching for the company.

Some promise themselves a positive effect from MyBusiness. I saw it differently. Above all, anyone can give Hansel a negative review without ever having had business or any dealings with you. These reviews are often harmful to the business and can often not be deleted.

Also I wanted to delete my MyBusiness account. But this was not foreseen by Google. I wrote a message to Google. Google called me from an irish number. On the phone was a man who has German as his mother tongue.

It led to nothing like at the IHK. I was told that I couldn't delete my own account with my own data which I had set up myself.

What am I supposed to do now to delete this stupid MyBusiness account and with it the several negative reviews from a person who claimed to be multiple people?

The solution came to me after a search showed that many others had this problem but couldn't solve it. Thanks to Google.

I simply renamed my "business". The actual company name what replaced with a random term that has no connection to my "business".

Problem solved.

Conclusion

Regulations like the IHK Act oblige the responsible person at the IHK to pass on my data. They oblige me to accept election advertising by post and mail, allegedly. Anyway, one should complain against this and have the law declared as unlawful.

Organizational requirements like those of Google prevent people from being their own boss over their own data. Allegedly. Anyway, one should also take the legal route here, which is little fun and takes a long time. Until then, negative reviews would be a thorn in the side.

But where no legal way, there a way. The pragmatic approach helps it find surprisingly simple and effective solutions for seemingly insoluble problems.