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La file d’attente de SPIPmotion
28 novembre 2010, parUne file d’attente stockée dans la base de donnée
Lors de son installation, SPIPmotion crée une nouvelle table dans la base de donnée intitulée spip_spipmotion_attentes.
Cette nouvelle table est constituée des champs suivants : id_spipmotion_attente, l’identifiant numérique unique de la tâche à traiter ; id_document, l’identifiant numérique du document original à encoder ; id_objet l’identifiant unique de l’objet auquel le document encodé devra être attaché automatiquement ; objet, le type d’objet auquel (...) -
Personnaliser les catégories
21 juin 2013, parFormulaire de création d’une catégorie
Pour ceux qui connaissent bien SPIP, une catégorie peut être assimilée à une rubrique.
Dans le cas d’un document de type catégorie, les champs proposés par défaut sont : Texte
On peut modifier ce formulaire dans la partie :
Administration > Configuration des masques de formulaire.
Dans le cas d’un document de type média, les champs non affichés par défaut sont : Descriptif rapide
Par ailleurs, c’est dans cette partie configuration qu’on peut indiquer le (...) -
Contribute to documentation
13 avril 2011Documentation is vital to the development of improved technical capabilities.
MediaSPIP welcomes documentation by users as well as developers - including : critique of existing features and functions articles contributed by developers, administrators, content producers and editors screenshots to illustrate the above translations of existing documentation into other languages
To contribute, register to the project users’ mailing (...)
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A Guide to Ethical Web Analytics in 2024
17 juin 2024, par ErinUser 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.
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.
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.
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.
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GA360 vs GA4 : Key Differences and Challenges
20 mai 2024, par ErinWhile the standard Universal Analytics (UA) was sunset for free users in July 2023, Google Analytics 360 (GA360) users could postpone the switch to GA4 for another 12 months. But time is running out. As July is rapidly approaching, GA360 customers need to prepare for the switch to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) or another solution.
This comparison post will help you understand the differences between GA360 vs. GA4. We’ll dive beneath the surface, examining each solution’s privacy implications and their usability, features, new metrics and measurement methods.
What is Google Analytics 4 (Standard) ?
GA4 is the latest version of Google Analytics, succeeding Universal Analytics. It was designed to address privacy issues with Universal Analytics, which made compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR difficult.
It completely replaced Universal Analytics for free users in July 2023. GA4 Standard features many differences from the original UA, including :
- Tracking and analysis are now events-based.
- Insights are primarily powered by machine learning. (There are fewer reports and manual analysis tools).
- Many users find the user interface to be too complex compared to Universal Analytics.
The new tracking, reports and metrics already make GA4 feel like a completely different web analytics platform. The user interface itself also includes notable changes in navigation and implementation. These changes make the transition hard for experienced analysts and digital marketers alike.
For a more in-depth look at the differences, read our comparison of Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics.
What is Google Analytics 360
Google Analytics 360 is a paid version of Google Analytics, mostly aimed at enterprises that need to analyse a large amount of data.
It significantly increases standard limits on data collection, sampling and processing. It also improves data granularity with more custom events and dimensions.
Transitioning from Universal Analytics 360 to GA4 360
You may still use the Universal Analytics tag and interface if you’ve been a Google Analytics 360 customer for multiple years. However, access to Universal Analytics 360 will be discontinued on July 1, 2024. Unlike the initial UA sunset (free version), you won’t be able to access the interface or your data after that, so it will be deleted.
That means you will have to adapt to the new GA4 user interface, reports and metrics before the sunset or find an alternative solution.
What is the difference between GA4 360 and free GA4 ?
The key differences between GA4 360 and free GA4 are higher data limits, enterprise support, uptime guarantees and more robust administrative controls.
GA4 offers most of the same features across the paid and free versions, but there are certain limits on data sampling, data processing and integrations. With the free version, you also can’t define as detailed events using event parameters as you can with GA4 360.
Higher data collection, accuracy, storage and processing limits
The biggest difference that GA4 360 brings to the table is more oomph in data collection, accuracy and analysis.
You can collect more specific data (with 100 event parameters instead of 25 for custom metrics). GA4 360 lets you divide users using more custom dimensions based on events or user characteristics. Instead of 50 per property, you get up to 125 per property.
And with up to 400 custom audiences, 360 is better for companies that heavily segment their users. More audiences, events and metrics per property mean more detailed insights.
Sampling limits are also of a completely different scale. The max sample size in GA4 360 is 100x the free version of GA4, with up to 1 billion events per query. This makes analysis a lot more accurate for high-volume users. A slice of 10 million events is hardly representative if you have 200 million monthly events.
Finally, GA4 360 lets you store all of that data for longer (up to 50 months vs up to 14 months). While new privacy regulations demand that you store user data only for the shortest time possible, website analytics data is often used for year-over-year analysis.
Enterprise-grade support and uptime guarantees
Because GA360 users are generally enterprises, Google offers service-level agreements for uptime and technical support response times.
- Tracking : 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Reporting : 99% uptime guarantee
- Data processing : within 4 hours at a 98% uptime guarantee
The free version of GA4 includes no such guarantees and limited access to professional support in the first place.
Integrations
GA4 360 increases limits for BigQuery and Google Ads Manager exports.
The standard limits in the free version are 1 million events per day to BigQuery. In GA4 360, this is increased to billions of events per day. You also get up to 400 audiences for Search Ads 360 instead of the 100 limit in standard GA4.
Roll-up analytics for agencies and enterprises
If you manage a wide range of digital properties, checking each one separately isn’t very effective. You can export the data into a tool like Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio), but this requires extra work.
With GA360, you can create “roll-up properties” to analyse data from multiple properties in the same space. It’s the best way to analyse larger trends and patterns across sites and apps.
Administration and user access controls
Beyond roll-up reporting, the other unique “advanced features” found in GA360 are related to administration and user access controls.
First, GA360 lets you create custom user roles, giving different access levels to different properties. Sub-properties and roll-up properties are also useful tools for data governance purposes. They make it easier to limit access for specific analysts to the area they’re directly working on.
You can also design custom reports for specific roles and employees based on their access levels.
Pricing
While GA4 is free, Google Analytics 360 is priced based on your traffic volume.
With the introduction of GA4, Google implemented a revised pricing model. For GA4 360, pricing typically begins at USD $50,000/year which covers up to 25 million events per month. Beyond this limit, costs increase based on data usage, scaling accordingly.
What’s not different : the interface, metrics, reports and basic features
GA4 360 is the same analytics tool as the free version of GA4, with higher usage limits and a few enterprise features. You get more advanced tracking capabilities and more accurate analysis in the same GA4 packaging.
If you already use and love GA4 but need to process more data, that’s great news. But if you’re using UA 360 and are hesitant to switch to the new interface, not so much.
Making the transition from UA to GA4 isn’t easy. Transferring the data means you need to figure out how to work with the API or use Google BigQuery.
Plus, you have to deal with new metrics, reports and a new interface. For example, you don’t get to keep your custom funnel reports. You need to use “funnel explorations.”
Going from UA to GA4 can feel like starting from scratch in a completely new web analytics tool.
Which version of Google Analytics 4 is right for you ?
Standard GA4 is a cost-effective web analytics option, but it’s not without its problems :
- If you’re used to the UA interface, it feels clunky and difficult to analyse.
- Data sampling is prevalent in the free version, leading to inaccuracies that can negatively affect decision-making and performance.
And that’s just scratching the surface of common GA4 issues.
Google Analytics 4 360 is a more reliable web analytics solution for enterprises. However, it suffers from many issues that made the GA4 transition painful for many free UA users last year.
- You need to rebuild reports and adjust to the new complex interface.
- To transfer historical data, you must use spreadsheets, the API, or BigQuery.
You will still lose some of the data due to changes to the metrics and reporting.
What if neither option is right for you ? Key considerations for choosing a Google Analytics alternative
Despite what Google would like you to think, GA4 isn’t the only option for website analytics in 2024 — far from it. For companies that are used to UA 360, the right alternative can offer unique benefits to your company.
Privacy regulations and future-proofing your analytics and marketing
Although less flagrant than UA, GA4 is still in murky waters regarding compliance with GDPR and other privacy regulations.
And the issue isn’t just that you can get fined (which is bad enough). As part of a ruling, you may be ordered to change your analytics platform and protocol, which can completely disrupt your marketing workflow.
When most marketing teams rely on web analytics to judge the ROI of their campaigns, this can be catastrophic. You may even have to pause campaigns as your team makes the adjustments.
Avoid this risk completely by going with a privacy-friendly alternative.
Features beyond basic web analytics
To understand your users, you need to look at more than just events and conversions.
That’s why some web analytics solutions have built-in behavioural analytics tools. Features like heatmaps (a visual pattern of popular clicks, scrolling and cursor movement) can help you understand how users interact with specific pages.
Matomo allows you to consolidate behavioural analytics and regular web analytics into a single platform. You don’t need separate tools and subscriptions for heatmaps, session recordings, from analytics, media analytics and A/B testing. You can do all of this with Matomo.
With insights about visits, sales, conversions, and usability in the same place, it’s a lot easier to improve your website.
Try Matomo for Free
Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.
Usability and familiar metrics
The move to event tracking means new metrics, reports and tools. So, if you’re used to Universal Analytics, it can be tricky to transition to GA4.
But there’s no need to start from zero, learning to work with a brand-new interface. Many competing web analytics platforms offer familiar reports and metrics — ones your team has gotten used to. This will help you speed up the time to value with a shorter learning curve.
Why Matomo is a better option than GA4 360 for UA 360 users
Matomo offers privacy-friendly tracking, built from the ground up to comply with regulations — including IP anonymisation and DoNotTrack settings. You also get 100% ownership of the data, which means we will never use your data for our own profit (unlike Google and other data giants).
This is a big deal, as breaking GDPR rules can lead to fines of up to 4% of your annual revenue. At the same time, you’ll also future-proof your marketing workflow by choosing a web analytics provider built with privacy regulations in mind.
Plus, for legacy UA 360 users, the Matomo interface will also feel a lot more intuitive and familiar. Matomo also provides marketing attribution models you know, like first click, which GA4 has removed.
Finally, you can access various behavioural analytics tools in a single platform — heatmaps, session recordings, form analytics, A/B testing and more. That means you don’t need to pay for separate solutions for conversion rate optimisation efforts.
And the transition is smooth. Matomo lets you import Universal Analytics data and offers ready-made Google Ads integration and Looker Studio Connector.
Join over 1 million websites that choose Matomo as their web analytics solution. Try it free for a 21-days. No credit card required.
Try Matomo for Free
21 day free trial. No credit card required.
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What Is Data Misuse & How to Prevent It ? (With Examples)
13 mai 2024, par ErinYour data is everywhere. Every time you sign up for an email list, log in to Facebook or download a free app onto your smartphone, your data is being taken.
This can scare customers and users who fear their data will be misused.
While data can be a powerful asset for your business, it’s important you manage it well, or you could be in over your head.
In this guide, we break down what data misuse is, what the different types are, some examples of major data misuse and how you can prevent it so you can grow your brand sustainably.
What is data misuse ?
Data is a good thing.
It helps analysts and marketers understand their customers better so they can serve them relevant information, products and services to improve their lives.
But it can quickly become a bad thing for both the customers and business owners when it’s mishandled and misused.
Data misuse is when a business uses data outside of the agreed-upon terms. When companies collect data, they need to legally communicate how that data is being used.
Who or what determines when data is being misused ?
Several bodies :
- User agreements
- Data privacy laws
- Corporate policies
- Industry regulations
There are certain laws and regulations around how you can collect and use data. Failure to comply with these guidelines and rules can result in several consequences, including legal action.
Keep reading to discover the different types of data misuse and how to prevent it.
3 types of data misuse
There are a few different types of data misuse.
If you fail to understand them, you could face penalties, legal trouble and a poor brand reputation.
1. Commingling
When you collect data, you need to ensure you’re using it for the right purpose. Commingling is when an organisation collects data from a specific audience for a specific reason but then uses the data for another purpose.
One example of commingling is if a company shares sensitive customer data with another company. In many cases, sister companies will share data even if the terms of the data collection didn’t include that clause.
Another example is if someone collects data for academic purposes like research but then uses the data later on for marketing purposes to drive business growth in a for-profit company.
In either case, the company went wrong by not being clear on what the data would be used for. You must communicate with your audience exactly how the data will be used.
2. Personal benefit
The second common way data is misused in the workplace is through “personal benefit.” This is when someone with access to data abuses it for their own gain.
The most common example of personal benefit data muse is when an employee misuses internal data.
While this may sound like each instance of data misuse is caused by malicious intent, that’s not always the case. Data misuse can still exist even if an employee didn’t have any harmful intent behind their actions.
One of the most common examples is when an employee mistakenly moves data from a company device to personal devices for easier access.
3. Ambiguity
As mentioned above, when discussing commingling, a company must only use data how they say they will use it when they collect it.
A company can misuse data when they’re unclear on how the data is used. Ambiguity is when a company fails to disclose how user data is being collected and used.
This means communicating poorly on how the data will be used can be wrong and lead to misuse.
One of the most common ways this happens is when a company doesn’t know how to use the data, so they can’t give a specific reason. However, this is still considered misuse, as companies need to disclose exactly how they will use the data they collect from their customers.
Laws on data misuse you need to follow
Data misuse can lead to poor reputations and penalties from big tech companies. For example, if you step outside social media platforms’ guidelines, you could be suspended, banned or shadowbanned.
But what’s even more important is certain types of data misuse could mean you’re breaking laws worldwide. Here are some laws on data misuse you need to follow to avoid legal trouble :
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
The GDPR, or General Data Protection Regulation, is a law within the European Union (EU) that went into effect in 2018.
The GDPR was implemented to set a standard and improve data protection in Europe. It was also established to increase accountability and transparency for data breaches within businesses and organisations.
The purpose of the GDPR is to protect residents within the European Union.
The penalties for breaking GDPR laws are fines up to 20 million Euros or 4% of global revenues (whatever the higher amount is).
The GDPR doesn’t just affect companies in Europe. You can break the GDPR’s laws regardless of where your organisation is located worldwide. As long as your company collects, processes or uses the personal data of any EU resident, you’re subject to the GDPR’s rules.
If you want to track user data to grow your business, you need to ensure you’re following international data laws. Tools like Matomo—the world’s leading privacy-friendly web analytics solution—can help you achieve GDPR compliance and maintain it.
With Matomo, you can confidently enhance your website’s performance, knowing that you’re adhering to data protection laws.
Try Matomo for Free
Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is another important data law companies worldwide must follow.
Like GDPR, the CCPA is a data privacy law established to protect residents of a certain region — in this case, residents of California in the United States.
The CCPA was implemented in 2020, and businesses worldwide can be penalised for breaking the regulations. For example, if you’re found violating the CCPA, you could be fined $7,500 for each intentional violation.
If you have unintentional violations, you could still be fined, but at a lesser fee of $2,500.
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
If your business is located within the United States, then you’re subject to a federal law implemented in 1999 called The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB Act or GLBA).
The GLBA is also known as the Financial Modernization Act of 1999. Its purpose is to control the way American financial institutions handle consumer data.
In the GLBA, there are three sections :
- The Financial Privacy Rule : regulates the collection and disclosure of private financial data.
- Safeguards Rule : Financial institutions must establish security programs to protect financial data.
- Pretexting Provisions : Prohibits accessing private data using false pretences.
The GLBA also requires financial institutions in the U.S. to give their customers written privacy policy communications that explain their data-sharing practices.
4 examples of data misuse in real life
If you want to see what data misuse looks like in real life, look no further.
Big tech is central to some of the biggest data misuses and scandals.
Here are a few examples of data misuse in real life you should take note of to avoid a similar scenario :
1. Facebook election interference
One of history’s most famous examples of data misuse is the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018.
During the 2018 U.S. midterm elections, Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm, acquired personal data from Facebook users that was said to have been collected for academic research.
Instead, Cambridge Analytica used data from roughly 87 million Facebook users.
This is a prime example of commingling.
The result ? Cambridge Analytica was left bankrupt and dissolved, and Facebook was fined $5 billion by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
2. Uber “God View” tracking
Another big tech company, Uber, was caught misusing data a decade ago.
Why ?
Uber implemented a new feature for its employees in 2014 called “God View.”
The tool enabled Uber employees to track riders using their app. The problem was that they were watching them without the users’ permission. “God View” lets Uber spy on their riders to see their movements and locations.
The FTC ended up slapping them with a major lawsuit, and as part of their settlement agreement, Uber agreed to have an outside firm audit their privacy practices between 2014 and 2034.
3. Twitter targeted ads overstep
In 2019, Twitter was found guilty of allowing advertisers to access its users’ personal data to improve advertisement targeting.
Advertisers were given access to user email addresses and phone numbers without explicit permission from the users. The result was that Twitter ad buyers could use this contact information to cross-reference with Twitter’s data to serve ads to them.
Twitter stated that the data leak was an internal error.
4. Google location tracking
In 2020, Google was found guilty of not explicitly disclosing how it’s using its users’ personal data, which is an example of ambiguity.
The result ?
The French data protection authority fined Google $57 million.
8 ways to prevent data misuse in your company
Now that you know the dangers of data misuse and its associated penalties, it’s time to understand how you can prevent it in your company.
Here are eight ways you can prevent data misuse :
1. Track data with an ethical web analytics solution
You can’t get by in today’s business world without tracking data. The question is whether you’re tracking it safely or not.
If you want to ensure you aren’t getting into legal trouble with data misuse, then you need to use an ethical web analytics solution like Matomo.
With it, you can track and improve your website performance while remaining GDPR-compliant and respecting user privacy. Unlike other web analytics solutions that monetise your data and auction it off to advertisers, with Matomo, you own your data.
Try Matomo for Free
Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.
2. Don’t share data with big tech
As the data misuse examples above show, big tech companies often violate data privacy laws.
And while most of these companies, like Google, appear to be convenient, they’re often inconvenient (and much worse), especially regarding data leaks, privacy breaches and the sale of your data to advertisers.
Have you ever heard the phrase : “You are the product ?” When it comes to big tech, chances are if you’re getting it for free, you (and your data) are the products they’re selling.
The best way to stop sharing data with big tech is to stop using platforms like Google. For more ideas on different Google product alternatives, check out this list of Google alternatives.
3. Identity verification
Data misuse typically isn’t a company-wide ploy. Often, it’s the lack of security structure and systems within your company.
An important place to start is to ensure proper identity verification for anyone with access to your data.
4. Access management
After establishing identity verification, you should ensure you have proper access management set up. For example, you should only give specific access to specific roles in your company to prevent data misuse.
5. Activity logs and monitoring
One way to track data misuse or breaches is by setting up activity logs to ensure you can see who is accessing certain types of data and when they’re accessing it.
You should ensure you have a team dedicated to continuously monitoring these logs to catch anything quickly.
6. Behaviour alerts
While manually monitoring data is important, it’s also good to set up automatic alerts if there is unusual activity around your data centres. You should set up behaviour alerts and notifications in case threats or compromising events occur.
7. Onboarding, training, education
One way to ensure quality data management is to keep your employees up to speed on data security. You should ensure data security is a part of your employee onboarding. Also, you should have regular training and education to keep people informed on protecting company and customer data.
8. Create data protocols and processes
To ensure long-term data security, you should establish data protocols and processes.
To protect your user data, set up rules and systems within your organisation that people can reference and follow continuously to prevent data misuse.
Leverage data ethically with Matomo
Data is everything in business.
But it’s not something to be taken lightly. Mishandling user data can break customer trust, lead to penalties from organisations and even create legal trouble and massive fines.
You should only use privacy-first tools to ensure you’re handling data responsibly.
Matomo is a privacy-friendly web analytics tool that collects, stores and tracks data across your website without breaking privacy laws.
With over 1 million websites using Matomo, you can track and improve website performance with :
- Accurate data (no data sampling)
- Privacy-friendly and compliant with privacy regulations like GDPR, CCPA and more
- Advanced features like heatmaps, session recordings, A/B testing and more
Try Matomo free for 21-days. No credit card required.
Try Matomo for Free
21 day free trial. No credit card required.
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