The questioning of Google’s use in Europe is having an impact on many web publishers. Why shouldn’t you use Google Analytics, the behemoth of web analytics, and what alternative solutions should you choose?
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A free statistical tool offered by Google, Google Analytics enables website administrators to track the evolution of a site’s audience, as well as observe how visitors navigate, what they do and how they got there.
ECJ ruling in 2020
Totally free of charge and widely acclaimed by European website publishers, this tool was called into question by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in a ruling on July 16, 2020. This ” Shrems II ” ruling invalidated the data transfer regime between the European Union and the United States known as Privacy Shield, which allowed the free transfer of data from European citizens to the United States. In this ruling, the CJEU considers that “thehe limitations on the protection of personal data resulting from the internal regulations of the United States concerning access and use by the American public authorities of such data transferred from the Union to this third country […] are not framed in such a way as to meet requirements that are substantially equivalent to those required. [par le] Union law “.
The CNIL verdict
After more than a year’s investigation, the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) has delivered its verdict: the use of Google Analytics is not compatible with the General Data Protection Regulation (RGPD ). In the Frequently Asked Questions available on its website, the CNIL explains that the use of this tool leads to a violation of applicable data protection regulations, and confirms that the current version of Google Analytics does not allow data to be anonymized or prevent their transfer to the USA.
Why law firms need to adapt
Continuing to use Google Analytics constitutes a breach of the RGPD and legal players, more than anyone else, are obliged to get up to speed with the CNIL’s recommendations. If not? The risk is that of a formal notice from the CNIL, which will demand that data processing be brought into compliance with the RGPD on pain of a fine equivalent to 4% of sales. This financial risk naturally entails a reputational risk and a loss of customer confidence.
Although this novelty may put a large number of companies in difficulty, it is also an opportunity for Europe to break away from its dependence on American tools and reassert its digital sovereignty.
What are the alternatives?
French companies can rest assured that while Google Analytics held 86.5% of the market at the start of 2022 (source: W3Techs data), it is not the only web analytics platform, and alternative solutions have not been slow in coming. Among them are AT Internet and Matomo, a French company recommended by the CNIL, with a solution already widely adopted internationally, including by major institutions such as the European Commission(About Europa Analytics), NASA and the United Nations.
Sources :
– Is this the end of Google Analytics in Europe?
– The CNIL gives advice on how to continue using Google Analytics
– Matomo On-Premise
– Tracking personal data or IIP with Matomo
– Matomo 4.5.0: Privacy-friendly alternative to Google Analytics
– Invalidation of the Privacy shield: consequences for organizations wishing to transfer personal data outside the EU
– Presentation of the CJEU ruling
