For the Guarantor, the use of Google Analytics violates the privacy regulations

The use of Google Analytics by the websites violates the European legislation on the protection of personal data, because these data are transferred and processed in the United States. This is what the Privacy Guarantor maintains, which has published the results of an investigation launched on the basis of a series of complaints and in coordination with other European privacy authorities.

From the investigation of the Guarantor it emerged that the managers of the websites that use Google Analytics collect, through the use of cookies, “information on user interactions with the aforementioned sites, the individual pages visited and the services offered”. Among the many data collected, the IP address of the user’s device and information relating to the browser, the operating system, the screen resolution, the selected language, as well as the date and time of the visit to the website. This information was found to be transferred to the United States, a country considered not very attentive to the protection of users’ privacy.

In declaring the unlawfulness of the processing, it was reiterated that “the IP address constitutes personal data and even if it were truncated it would not become anonymous data, given the ability of Google to enrich it with other data in its possession”.

The Guarantor also highlighted the possibility for US government authorities and intelligence agencies to access personal data transferred without due guarantees, noting in this regard that the measures that integrate the transfer tools adopted by Google “do not currently guarantee an adequate level of protection of users’ personal data “.

“The news of the stop arrived today by the Privacy Guarantor of Google Analytics is a strong indication why” it emphasizes the importance of respecting the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and of how it is necessary to adopt a data governance strategy at a national and European level that guarantees us technological sovereignty and economic independence “, commented the Minister of Labor, Andrea Orlandowho adds: “We need more awareness on the role played by data as the future economic and social infrastructure of the country in the coming years. Regaining control over data not only protects the fundamental freedoms of citizens, but is an issue of great strategic importance for developments industrial and geo-political of the future “.