Twitter verboten? German parliament edict irks lawmakers

Germany's new parliamentary speaker is meeting resistance to his suggestion that lawmakers refrain from tweeting or snapping photos during sessions.

Wolfgang Schaeuble, who served as Germany's Finance Minister until being elected parliamentary speaker last month, told lawmakers in a memo that the use of devices "to photograph, tweet or distribute information about the session" is "inappropriate and thus undesired."

Christian Social Union politician Dorothee Baer told Germany's Funke media group Thursday that while she is critical of some use of smart phones, "social media, when used properly, is the digital counterpart to the glass dome of our parliament building as a symbol and means of transparency."

Left Party politician Petra Sitte says she'll ignore the recommendation, saying "we live in an open media society in which speed is sometimes everything."