Citing a GDPR violation, the Swedish Privacy regulator has fined two local companies and warned two others on using Google Analytics, this week.
This results from a lawsuit by an Austrian digital rights organisation, which studied Google Analytics and said the app collects some personal information – and transports it to the US. Several EU countries have noted that sending and storing data in the US is unsafe.
Google Analytics as an Unsafe Tool
Google Analytics is one of the best statistical tools for measuring your app or website’s traffic, but it’s not accepted everywhere. In the EU, the tool was objected to by several countries for data security reasons since the product belongs to the US and carries extensive data.
Lately, Sweden’s Privacy Protection Authority IMY has fined two local firms for using Google Analytics and warned two others against using the tool. The companies are;
- Tele2 SA – Administrative fine of 12,000,000 SEK
- CDON AB – Call for GDPR compliance and an administrative fine of 300,000 SEK
- Coop SA – Call for GDPR compliance
- Dagens Industri – Call for GDPR compliance
The regulator noted that Google Analytics violates their GDPR and was penalised. This action was sought from an Austrian digital rights organisation called None of Your Business, which investigated Google Analytics and said the tool sucked sensitive information, in which the transporting user data to a foreign land is prohibited under GDPR.
GDPR Article 46(1) forbids the transfer of personal data to countries or international organisations that lack safeguards that warrant safety and legal remediation mechanisms. In this case, the Swedish regulator considers the US an unsafe data harbour, based on the “Schrems II” judgment from 2020.
Penalising the companies, the regulator has also ordered the other two companies to set appropriate data protection measures within 30 days.
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