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Spotlight on ...

THE WAR ON GOOGLE

ANALYTICS

Text: Alan Rhode, Co-Founder Taxmen

Google Analytics is under attack. Earlier this year, the “privacy watchdogs” of Austria,
France and Italy separately published decisions against local organisations whose use of
Google Analytics was deemed in breach of the GDPR. Although these decisions held an
individual character (at least formally) and, thus, didn’t represent general guidelines, they
were interpreted as a serious warning to the entire digital community.

he first was the Austrian data protection protection of personal data. The transatlantic transfer of data is
authority, Datenschutzbehörde, ruling in a thus a thorny subject. After that, the E.U. and the U.S. reached a
Tdecision against a local website that the in- much-awaited agreement. In 2016, the E.U. issued an adequacy
formation treated by Google Analytics also includes decision that allowed the free transfer of data to companies
personal data (allowing the identification of a per- certified in the U.S. under a legal framework known as “Privacy
son, at least potentially) and that such personal data Shield”. In 2020, however, the European Court of Justice
is transferred illegally to Google’s parent company invalidated the adequacy decision. Consequently, the Privacy
in the United States of America. Shield is no longer a valid mechanism for transferring European
We should remember that the European Union doesn’t consider personal data to the United States.
the U.S. a country that ensures a sufficient degree of legal

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