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• Google Analytics 4 and GDPR : Everything You Need to Know

  17 mai 2022, par Erin

  Four years have passed since the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, also known as DSGVO in German, and RGPD in French) took effect.

  That’s ample time to get compliant, especially for an organisation as big and innovative as Google. Or is it ? 

  If you are wondering how GDPR affects Google Analytics 4 and what the compliance status is at present, here’s the lowdown. 

  Is Google Analytics 4 GDPR Compliant ?

  No. As of mid-2022, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) isn’t fully GDPR compliant. Despite adding extra privacy-focused features, GA4 still has murky status with the European regulators. After the invalidation of the Privacy Shield framework in 2020, Google is yet to regulate EU-US data protection. At present, the company doesn’t sufficiently protect EU citizens’ and residents’ data against US surveillance laws. This is a direct breach of GDPR.

  Google Analytics and GDPR : a Complex Relationship 

  European regulators have scrutinised Google since GDPR came into effect in 2018.

  While the company took steps to prepare for GDPR provisions, it didn’t fully comply with important regulations around user data storage, transfer and security.

  The relationship between Google and EU regulators got more heated after the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) invalidated the Privacy Shield — a leeway Google used for EU-US data transfers. After 2020, GDPR litigation against Google followed. 

  This post summarises the main milestones in this story and explains the consequences for Google Analytics users. 

  

  2018 : Google Analytics Meets GDPR 

  In 2018, the EU adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — a set of privacy and data security laws, covering all member states. Every business interacting with EU citizens and/or residents had to comply.

  GDPR harmonised data protection laws across member states and put down extra provisions for what constitutes sensitive personal information (or PII). Broadly, PII includes any data about the person’s :

  • Racial or ethnic origin 
  • Employment status 
  • Religious or political beliefs
  • State of health 
  • Genetic or biometric data 
  • Financial records (such as payment method data)
  • Address and phone numbers 

  Businesses were barred from collecting this information without explicit consent (and even with it in some cases). If collected, such sensitive information is also subject to strict requirements on how it should be stored, secured, transferred and used. 

  7 Main GDPR Principles Explained 

  Article 5 of the GDPR lays out seven main GDPR principles for personal data and privacy protection : 

  • Lawfulness, fairness and transparency — data must be obtained legally, collected with consent and in adherence to laws. 
  • Purpose limitation — all personal information must be collected for specified, explicit and legal purposes. 
  • Data minimisation — companies must collect only necessary and adequate data, aligned with the stated purpose. 
  • Accuracy — data accuracy must be ensured at all times. Companies must have mechanisms to erase or correct inaccurate data without delays. 
  • Storage limitation — data must be stored only for as long as the stated purpose suggests. Though there’s no upper time limit on data storage. 
  • Integrity and confidentiality (security) — companies must take measures to ensure secure data storage and prevent unlawful or unauthorised access to it. 
  • Accountability — companies must be able to demonstrate adherence to the above principles. 

  Google claimed to have taken steps to make all of their products GDPR compliant ahead of the deadline. But in practice, this wasn’t always the case.

  In March 2018, a group of publishers admonished Google for not providing them with enough tools for GDPR compliance :

  “[Y]ou refuse to provide publishers with any specific information about how you will collect, share and use the data. Placing the full burden of obtaining new consent on the publisher is untenable without providing the publisher with the specific information needed to provide sufficient transparency or to obtain the requisite specific, granular and informed consent under the GDPR.”

  The proposed Google Analytics GDPR consent form was hard to implement and lacked customisation options. In fact, Google “makes unilateral decisions” on how the collected data is stored and used. 

  Users had no way to learn about or control all intended uses of people’s data — which made compliance with the second clause impossible. 

  Unsurprisingly, Google was among the first companies to face a GDPR lawsuit (together with Facebook). 

  By 2019, French data regulator CNIL, successfully argued that Google wasn’t sufficiently disclosing its data collection across products — and hence in breach of GDPR. After a failed appeal, Google had to pay a €50 million fine and promise to do better. 

  2019 : Google Analytics 4 Announcement 

  Throughout 2019, Google rightfully attempted to resolve some of its GDPR shortcomings across all products, Google Universal Analytics (UA) included. 

  They added a more visible consent mechanism for online tracking and provided extra compliance tips for users to follow. In the background, Google also made tech changes to its data processing mechanism to get on the good side of regulations.

  Though Google addressed some of the issues, they missed others. A 2019 independent investigation found that Google real-time-bidding (RTB) ad auctions still used EU citizens’ and residents’ data without consent, thanks to a loophole called “Push Pages”. But they managed to quickly patch this up before the allegations had made it to court. 

  In November 2019, Google released a beta version of the new product version — Google Analytics 4, due to replace Universal Analytics. 

  GA4 came with a set of new privacy-focused features for ticking GDPR boxes such as :

  • Data deletion mechanism. Users can now request to surgically extract certain data from the Analytics servers via a new interface. 
  • Shorter data retention period. You can now shorten the default retention period to 2 months by default (instead of 14 months) or add a custom limit.  
  • IP Anonymisation. GA4 doesn’t log or store IP addresses by default. 

  Google Analytics also updated its data processing terms and made changes to its privacy policy. 

  Though Google made some progress, Google Analytics 4 still has many limitations — and isn’t GDPR compliant. 

  2020 : Privacy Shield Invalidation Ruling 

  As part of the 2018 GDPR preparations, Google named its Irish entity (Google Ireland Limited) as the “data controller” legally responsible for EEA and Swiss users’ information. 

  The company announcement says : 

  

  Initially, Google assumed that this legal change would help them ensure GDPR compliance as “legally speaking” a European entity was set in charge of European data. 

  Practically, however, EEA consumers’ data was still primarily transferred and processed in the US — where most Google data centres are located. Until 2020, such cross-border data transfers were considered legal thanks to the Privacy Shield framework. 

  But in July 2020, The EU Court of Justice ruled that this framework doesn’t provide adequate data protection to digitally transmitted data against US surveillance laws. Hence, companies like Google can no longer use it. The Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) reached the same conclusion in September 2020. 

  The invalidation of the Privacy Shield framework put Google in a tough position.

   Article 14. f of the GDPR explicitly states : 

  “The controller (the company) that intends to carry out a transfer of personal data to a recipient (Analytics solution) in a third country or an international organisation must provide its users with information on the place of processing and storage of its data”.

  Invalidation of the Privacy Shield framework prohibited Google from moving data to the US. At the same time, GDPR provisions mandated that they must disclose proper data location. 

  But Google Analytics (like many other products) had no a mechanism for : 

  • Guaranteeing intra-EU data storage 
  • Selecting a designated regional storage location 
  • Informing users about data storage location or data transfers outside of the EU 

  And these factors made Google Analytics in direct breach of GDPR — a territory, where they remain as of 2022.

  2020-2022 : Google GDPR Breaches and Fines 

  The 2020 ruling opened Google to GDPR lawsuits from country-specific data regulators.

  Google Analytics in particular was under a heavy cease-fire. 

  • Sweden first fined Google for violating GDPR for no not fulfilling its obligations to request data delisting in 2020. 
  • France rejected Google Analytics 4 IP address anonymisation function as a sufficient measure for protecting cross-border data transfers. Even with it, US intelligence services can still access user IPs and other PII. France declared Google Analytics illegal and pressed a €150 million fine. 
  • Austria also found Google Analytics GDPR non-compliant and proclaimed the service as “illegal”. The authority now seeks a fine too. 

  The Dutch Data Protection Authority and  Norwegian Data Protection Authority also found Google Analytics guilty of a GDPR breach and seek to limit Google Analytics usage. 

  New privacy controls in Google Analytics 4 do not resolve the underlying issue — unregulated, non-consensual EU-US data transfer. 

  Google Analytics GDPR non-compliance effectively opens any website tracking or analysing European visitors to legal persecution.

  In fact, this is already happening. noyb, a European privacy-focused NGO, has already filed over 100 lawsuits against European websites using Google Analytics.

  2022 : Privacy Shield 2.0. Negotiations

  Google isn’t the only US company affected by the Privacy Shield framework invalidation. The ruling puts thousands of digital companies at risk of non-compliance.

  To settle the matter, US and EU authorities started “peace talks” in spring 2022.

  European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that they are working with the Biden administration on the new agreement that will “enable predictable and trustworthy data flows between the EU and US, safeguarding the privacy and civil liberties.” 

  However, it’s just the beginning of a lengthy negotiation process. The matter is far from being settled and contentious issues remain as we discussed on Twitter (come say hi !).

  

  For one, the US isn’t eager to modify its surveillance laws and is mostly willing to make them “proportional” to those in place in the EU. These modifications may still not satisfy CJEU — which has the power to block the agreement vetting or invalidate it once again. 

  While these matters are getting hashed out, Google Analytics users, collecting data about EU citizens and/or residents, remain on slippery grounds. As long as they use GA4, they can be subject to GDPR-related lawsuits. 

  To Sum It Up 

  • Google Analytics 4 and Google Universal Analytics are not GDPR compliant because of Privacy Shield invalidation in 2020. 
  • French and Austrian data watchdogs named Google Analytics operations “illegal”. Swedish, Dutch and Norwegian authorities also claim it’s in breach of GDPR. 
  • Any website using GA for collecting data about European citizens and/or residents can be taken to court for GDPR violations (which is already happening). 
  • Privacy Shield 2.0 Framework discussions to regulate EU-US data transfers have only begun and may take years. Even if accepted, the new framework(s) may once again be invalidated by local data regulators as has already happened in the past. 

  Time to Get a GDPR Compliant Google Analytics Alternative 

  Retaining 100% data ownership is the optimal path to GDPR compliance.

  By selecting a transparent web analytics solution that offers 100% data ownership, you can rest assured that no “behind the scenes” data collection, processing or transfers take place. 

  Unlike Google Analytics 4, Matomo offers all of the features you need to be GDPR compliant : 

  • Full data anonymisation 
  • Single-purpose data usage 
  • Easy consent and an opt-out mechanism 
  • First-party cookies usage by default 
  • Simple access to collect data 
  • Fast data removals 
  • EU-based data storage for Matomo Cloud (or storage in the country of your choice with Matomo On-Premise)

  Learn about your audiences in a privacy-centred way and protect your business against unnecessary legal exposure. 

  Start your 21-day free trial (no credit card required) to see how fully GDPR-compliant website analytics works ! 

  21 day free trial. No credit card required.

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• A Guide to Ethical Web Analytics in 2024

  17 juin, par Erin

  User data is more valuable and sought after than ever. 

  Ninety-four percent of respondents in Cisco’s Data Privacy Benchmark Study said their customers wouldn’t buy from them if their data weren’t protected, with 95% saying privacy was a business imperative. 

  Unfortunately, the data collection practices of most businesses are far from acceptable and often put their customers’ privacy at risk. 

  But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can ethically collect valuable and insightful customer data—you just need the right tools.

  In this article, we show you what an ethical web analytics solution can look like, why Google Analytics is a problem and how you can collect data without risking your customers’ privacy.

  What is ethical web analytics ?

  Ethical web analytics put user privacy first. These platforms prioritise privacy and transparency by only collecting necessary data, avoiding implicit user identification and openly communicating data practices and tracking methods. 

  Ethical tools adhere to data protection laws like GDPR as standard (meaning businesses using these tools never have to worry about fines or disruptions). In other words, ethical web analytics refrain from exploiting and profiting from user behaviour and data. 

  Unfortunately, most traditional data solutions collect as much data as possible without users’ knowledge or consent.

  Why does digital privacy matter ?

  Digital privacy matters because companies have repeatedly proven they will collect and use data for financial gain. It also presents security risks. Unsecured user data can lead to identity theft, cyberattacks and harassment. 

  Big tech companies like Google and Meta are often to blame for all this. These companies collect millions of user data points — like age, gender, income, political beliefs and location. Worse still, they share this information with interested third parties.

  After public outrage over data breaches and other privacy scandals, consumers are taking active steps to disallow tracking where possible. IAPP’s Privacy and Consumer Trust Report finds that 68% of consumers across 19 countries are somewhat or very concerned about their digital privacy. 

  There’s no way around it : companies of all sizes and shapes need to consider how they handle and protect customers’ private information. 

  Why should you use an ethical web analytics tool ?

  When companies use ethical web analytics tools they can build customer trust, boost their brand reputation, improve data security practices and future proof their website tracking solution. 

  Boost brand reputation

  The fallout from a data privacy scandal can be severe. 

  Just look at what happened to Facebook during the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. The eponymous consulting firm harvested 50 million Facebook profiles and used that information to target people with political messages. Due to the instant public backlash, Facebook’s stock tanked, and use of the “delete Facebook” hashtag increased by 423% in the following days.

  That’s because consumers care about data privacy, according to Deloitte’s Connected Consumer Study :

  • Almost 90 percent agree they should be able to view and delete data companies collect 
  • 77 percent want the government to introduce stricter regulations
  • Half feel the benefits they get from online services outweigh data privacy concerns.

  If you can prove you buck the trend by collecting data using ethical methods, it can boost your brand’s reputation. 

  Build trust with customers

  At the same time, collecting data in an ethical way can help you build customer trust. You’ll go a long way to changing consumer perceptions, too. Almost half of consumers don’t like sharing data, and 57% believe companies sell their data. 

  This additional trust should generate a positive ROI for your business. According to Cisco’s Data Privacy Benchmark Study, the average company gains $180 for every $100 they invest in privacy. 

  Improve data security

  According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach report, the average cost of a data breach is nearly $4.5 million. This kind of scenario becomes much less likely when you use an ethical tool that collects less data overall and anonymises the data you do collect. 

  Futureproof your web analytics solution

  The obvious risk of not complying with privacy regulations is a fine — which can be up to €20 million, or 4% of worldwide annual revenue in the case of GDPR.

  It’s not just fines and penalties you risk if you fail to comply with privacy regulations like GDPR. For some companies, especially larger ones, the biggest risk of non-compliance with privacy regulations is the potential sudden need to abandon Google Analytics and switch to an ethical alternative.

  If Data Protection Authorities ban Google Analytics again, as has happened in Austria, France, and other countries, businesses will be forced to drop everything and make an immediate transition to a compliant web analytics solution.

  When an organisation’s entire marketing operation relies on data, migrating to a new solution can be incredibly painful and time-consuming. So, the sooner you switch to an ethical tool, the less of a headache the process will be. 

  The problem with Google Analytics

  Google Analytics (GA) is the most popular analytics platform in the world, but it’s a world away from being an ethical tool. Here’s why :

  You don’t have data ownership

  Google Analytics is attractive to businesses of all sizes because of its price. Everyone loves getting something for free, but there’s still a cost — your and your customers’ data.

  That’s because Google combines the data you collect with information from the millions of other websites it tracks to inform its advertising efforts. It may also use your data to train large language models like Gemini. 

  It has a rocky history with GDPR laws

  Google and EU regulators haven’t always got along. For example, the German Data Protection Authority is investigating 200,000 pending cases against websites using GA. The platform has also been banned and added back to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework several times over the past few years. 

  You can use GA to collect data about EU customers right now, but there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to do so in the future. 

  It requires a specific setup to remain compliant

  While you can currently use GA in a GDPR-compliant way — owing to its inclusion in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework — you have to set it up in a very specific way. That’s because the platform’s compliance depends on what data you collect, how you inform users and the level of consent you acquire. You’ll still need to include an extensive privacy policy on your website. 

  What does ethical web analytics look like ?

  An ethical web analytics solution should put user privacy first, ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR, give businesses 100% control of the data they collect and be completely transparent about data collection and storage practices. 

  

  100% data ownership

  You don’t fully control customer data when you use Google Analytics. The search giant uses your data for its own advertising purposes and may also use it to train large language models like Gemini. 

  When you choose an ethical web analytics alternative like Matomo, you can ensure you completely own your data.

  Try Matomo for Free

  Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.

  Start for free

  No credit card required

  Respects user privacy

  It’s possible to track and measure user behaviour without collecting personally identifiable information (PII). Just look at the ethical web analytics tools we’ve reviewed below. 

  These platforms respect user privacy and conform to strict privacy regulations like GDPR, CCPA and HIPAA by incorporating some or all of the following features :

  • Opt-out mechanisms to let users refuse tracking
  • IP addresses anonymisation and other data anonymisation techniques
  • DoNotTrack options
  • Shorter expiration dates for tracking cookies

  In Matomo’s case, it’s all of the above. Better still, you can check our privacy credentials yourself. Our software’s source code is open source on GitHub and accessible to anyone at any time. 

  Compliant with government regulations

  While Google’s history with data regulations is tumultuous, an ethical web analytics platform should follow even the strictest privacy laws, including GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA, LGPD and PECR.

  But why stop there ? Matomo has been approved by the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) as one of the few web analytics tools that French sites can use to collect data without tracking consent. So you don’t need an annoying consent banner popping up on your website anymore. 

  Try Matomo for Free

  Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.

  Start for free

  No credit card required

  Complete transparency 

  Ethical web analytics tools will be upfront about their data collection practices, whether that’s in the U.S., EU, or on your own private servers. Look for a solution that refrains from collecting personally identifiable information, shows where data is stored, and lets you alter tracking methods to increase privacy even further. 

  Some solutions, like Matomo, will increase transparency further by providing open source software. Anyone can find our source code on GitHub to see exactly how our platform tracks and stores user data. This means our code is regularly examined and reviewed by a community of developers, making it more secure, too.

  Ethical web analytics solutions

  There are several options for an ethical web analytics tool. We list three of the best providers below. 

  Matomo

  Matomo is an open source web analytics tool and privacy-focused Google Analytics alternative used by over one million sites globally. 

  

  Matomo is fully compliant with prominent global privacy regulations like GDPR, CCPA and HIPAA, meaning you never have to worry about collecting consent when tracking user behaviour. 

  The data you collect is completely accurate since Matomo doesn’t use data sampling and is 100% yours. We don’t share data with third parties but can prove it. Our product source code is publicly available on GitHub. As a community-led project, you can download and install it yourself for free. 

  With Matomo, you get a full range of web analytics capabilities and behavioural analytics. That includes your standard metrics (think visitors, traffic sources, bounce rates, etc.), advanced features to analyse user behaviour like A/B Testing, Form Analytics, Heatmaps and Session Recordings. 

  Migrating to Matomo is easy. You can even import historical Google Analytics data to generate meaningful insights immediately. 

  Try Matomo for Free

  Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.

  Start for free

  No credit card required

  Fathom

  Fathom Analytics is a lightweight privacy-focused analytics solution that launched in 2018. It aims to be an easy-to-use Google Analytics alternative that doesn’t compromise privacy. 

  

  Like Matomo, Fathom complies with all major privacy regulations, including GDPR and CCPA. It also provides 100% accurate, unsampled reports and doesn’t share your data with third parties. 

  While Fathom provides fairly comprehensive analytics reports, it doesn’t have some of Matomo’s more advanced features. That includes e-commerce tracking, heatmaps, session recordings, and more. 

  Plausible

  Plausible Analytics is another open source Google Analytics alternative that was built and hosted in the EU. 

  

  Launched in 2019, Plausible is a newer player in the privacy-focused analytics market. Still, its ultra-lightweight script makes it an attractive option for organisations that prioritise speed over everything else. 

  Like Matomo and Fathom, Plausible is GDPR and CCPA-compliant by design. Nor is there any cap on the amount of data you collect or any debate over whether the data is accurate (Plausible doesn’t use data sampling) or who owns the data (you do). 

  Matomo makes it easy to migrate to an ethical web analytics alternative

  There’s no reason to put your users’ privacy at risk, especially when there are so many benefits to choosing an ethical tool. Whether you want to avoid fines, build trust with your customers, or simply know you’re doing the right thing, choosing a privacy-focused, ethical solution like Matomo is taking a massive step in the right direction. 

  Making the switch is easy, too. Matomo is one of the few options that lets you import historical Google Analytics data, so starting from scratch is unnecessary. 

  Get started today by trying Matomo for free for 21-days. No credit card required. 

  Try Matomo for Free

  21 day free trial. No credit card required.

  
  

  Your email address
  

  Your website address
  

  Your Analytics subdomain will be .matomo.cloud (change)

  Choose your analytics subdomain
  

  .matomo.cloud

  I accept the terms and conditions and data processing agreement (DPA)

  
  Your information will be used to create an account on our cloud service. For more information please consult our privacy policy.
  
  
  

  Start improving your websites now

  

• Revision 29748 : Mise à jour de l’ensembles des fonctions ... on peut passer maintenant à ...

  8 juillet 2009, par kent1@… — Log

  Mise à jour de l’ensembles des fonctions ... on peut passer maintenant à l’encodage multiple