France is the latest country to crack down on Google Analytics, over concerns it violates the GDPR the EU’s privacy legislation.
In mid-January, the Austrian Data Protection Authority ruled that Google Analytics was illegal due to conflicts with the GDPR. Essentially, the GDPR prohibits countries from exporting EU citizen data to the US. Much of the concern stems from the fact that US intelligence agencies can force companies to give them access to such data, without the protections EU citizens are normally afforded.
France has now joined Austria, according to Le Monde, via AppleInsider. The National Commission for Informatics and Liberties (CNIL) has ordered a company to stop using Google Analytics.
“The CNIL notes that Internet users’ data [collected by Google Analytics] are transferred to the United States in violation of…GDPR,” reads the statement Le Monde gained access to. “It therefore requires the site manager to bring these processing into compliance with the GDPR, if necessary by ceasing to use the Google Analytics feature (under current conditions) or by using a tool that does not result in a transfer outside the EU.”
The CNIL has given the site manager one month to stop using Google’s platform. This latest development does not bode well for Google. When Austria made its ruling, experts believed other countries would soon follow suit. Austria and France are likely just the first elements of what may become a wave of losses for the Google Analytics platform.
National Commission for Informatics and Liberties (CNIL) has issued a formal statement regarding the unnamed company. “The site manager has one month to comply,” says the statement (in translation), as seen by Le Monde.
“The CNIL notes that Internet users’ data [collected by Google Analytics] are transferred to the United States in violation of…GDPR,” continues the statement. “It therefore requires the site manager to bring these processing into compliance with the GDPR, if necessary by ceasing to use the Google Analytics feature (under current conditions) or by using a tool that does not result in a transfer outside the EU.”