The “ Watchlist Internet ” page reports numerous emails that indicate a GDPR violation on company websites. The email relates to the use of Google Analytics. There is no need to worry, but in the long term you should look for alternatives to the Google service.
The widely sent email warns entrepreneurs of warnings due to the use of Google Analytics. The message also promotes alternative services that claim to be privacy-friendly. The text of the email is as follows:
Subject: Austrian data protection authority prevents Google Analytics
Dear Sir or Madam,
the Google tracking code just popped up on your website. At the beginning of 2022, the Austrian data protection authority banned the use of Google Analytics . That's why warnings are already circulating against companies that continue to use Google Analytics.
For your protection, I ask you to forward
web manager or data protection officer - deactivation of the Google script
- installation of data protection-friendly tools , such as Smartlook or Fathom , which enable clean web analysis without cookies and without data transfer make the USA possible.
Thank you
very much, best regards
Anna Sobatka
If you have received such an email, there is no reason to worry. It should not contain any malware or viruses. It seems as if an offensive advertising strategy is being used , which automatically searches for company websites that use Google Analytics on their website. As soon as the message authors assume that the company is using the Google service, they send the above-mentioned generic message to attract new customers for the advertised services. So you can safely delete the email.
Use of Google Analytics not GDPR compliant
According to a recent ruling by the Austrian data protection authority, transferring data directly to Google Analytics is not data protection compliant. If you would like to continue to use the Google Analytics service, we recommend using external tools to anonymize personal data before it is transmitted to Google.
Due to the mass of data that is transmitted to Google, it is still possible to clearly identify individual users - so it is questionable whether this method of anonymization is assessed as sufficient by data protection commissions. This cannot be estimated at the moment. A switch to alternative tracking tools (such as Matomo, etracker Analytics, econda, etc.) or to server-side tracking would be the less problematic option from a data protection perspective.
Source: Watchlist Internet
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