Last week, the Personal Data Authority (AP) released an addendum to their guide on privacy-friendly setup of Google Analytics. In it, the AP reported that the Austrian privacy regulator had completed an investigation into the use of Google Analytics. According to this investigation, Google Analytics does not comply with the AVG.
The Austrian privacy regulator argues(a summary of that ruling here) that the data processed by Google is considered personal data, even when anonymized. On top of that, the processing of this data in the United States is in violation of the AVG because of the legislation in place there. Third parties (read: intelligence agencies) can access this data without the user's consent.
The Dutch privacy regulator itself expects to complete its investigation early this year. The outcome of this investigation of AP will provide clarity on how we may use Google Analytics.
It remains to be seen what this means for Dutch companies using Google Analytics. But the trend is strongly continuing that we are increasingly moving towards a privacy-conscious and privacy-oriented society.
Are you looking for a self-hosted analytics platform as an alternative or as a backup for Google Analytics. Vicus works with Matomo for years and recommends this open source analytics platform Matomo as an alternative. This allows you to completely self-manage the statistics of your visitors on your website and webshop and you are not dependent on this type of guidelines for third parties.
Want to know more? Then get in touch with us.
