The German broadcasters RTL and ProSiebenSat.1 have partnered with United Internet to develop a single sign-on platform for the German market. Their first partner to adopt the open standard is the e-commerce site Zalando.
The log-in platform based on open standards will be developed this year for launch to the three companies' customers in 2018. The companies said they are open to others joining the project. The aim is to develop an alternative to the closed systems of American internet giants such as Google and Facebook, as well as ensure compliance with the EU's new data protection regulation coming into effect next year.
In addition to logging into a range of websites with the same user name and password, users of the new platform will benefit from a 'Privacy Center', where they can control all their data and settings. The three founding companies have a combined user base of 45 million people.
