Zeit reports that several regional authorities, as well as the
national Federal Data Protection Commissioner, are investigating
whether the use of the system is a breach of web users' privacy
rights unless their permission is obtained.
Google Analytics gathers, stores and collates information about
website visitors. It tells web publishers how many unique visitors
have been to a site, what pages they visited in what order and for
how long. Such information is essential for web publishers in the
creation of their sites and the management of advertising.
While other measurement services are available, Google Analytics
has become extremely popular because it is free to use.
The data protection authorities in Germany, though, are
considering action against those publishers who use the system
because it uses unique identifiers of users.
Zeit reported that data protection authorities are concerned in
case Google combines that information with other details held by it
on the owner of that internet protocol, or IP, address from other
services it operates such as its search engine or email system.
Though Google's terms and conditions say that it will not tie
the Analytics data to other information it gathers, the data
protection authorities are reportedly concerned about another
clause in the terms and conditions that allows those terms to be
modified by Google.
Though the use of the system without web users' consent is at
the heart of its legality, Google said that it demands that all web
publishers tell site users that Analytics is monitoring the use of
the site.
"Analytics requires that all websites that use it must update
their privacy policy to include a privacy policy on their site that
fully discloses the use of Analytics," said a Google spokeswoman.
"We are completely confident that Google Analytics complies with
European data protection law."
"The service only reports on aggregate visitor data in anonymous
form and does not collect personal information like addresses,
names, or credit card numbers. For example, if users fill in
personal details on a web site using Google Analytics, that data is
not collected by or reported on by Google Analytics," said the
spokeswoman.
Google said that Analytics set a "high bar" amongst its
competitors for privacy protection and noted that UK data
protection watchdog the Information Commissioner's Office used the
system on its own site.
The German Data Protection Commissioner's Office did not respond
to a request for comment before publication.
Disclaimer: We hope you find OUT-LAW’s content useful. It’s prepared by the lawyers at Pinsent Masons. Please remember, though, that it’s intended as general information only. It’s not legal advice. If that’s what you’re seeking, please
contact us. See also: our
full disclaimer
