‘Google Analytics may be banned in the Netherlands’

‘Google Analytics may be banned in the Netherlands’

Dutch privacy regulator Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP) is warning that Google Analytics may soon be banned.

The reason for the warning is yesterday’s news that the Austrian privacy regulator finds that the tool unnecessarily collects data from cookies and sends it to the United States. The unnecessary collection and forwarding violates the European GDPR laws and regulations and is thus illegal

Research on Dutch situation

With the warning, the AP notes that it is investigating the functionality in the Netherlands, in response to two complaints. Only after the investigation is completed, the privacy regulator will draw conclusions on whether or not to allow the use of Google Analytics in the Netherlands.

Google already under fire in the Netherlands

The services of Google have been under fire in the Netherlands for some time when it comes to sufficiently guaranteeing privacy. In March 2021, the Ministry of Justice and Security (J&V) announced that it was not in favor of the central government switching to Google Workspace for Education. According to the ministry, there were still too many privacy risks that had not yet been resolved.