Man fined by German court for using free google font on his website. (1 Viewer)

[Gromett]

Because it is contravention of the GDPR.

If this isn't a prime example of why the GDPR is bad I don't know what is?

German Court Rules Websites Embedding Google Fonts Violates GDPR

A German court has ruled that websites that embed fonts from Google servers violate GDPR, and must pay €100 in damages.

thehackernews.com

 

[AndyPK]

What a can of worms……..

 

[MisterB]

with a fine of 100 euros showing just how serious the offence is ...

hate to think how much legal costs were and who had to pay them ....?

 

[ManTheVan]

How much in legal fees in order to prosecute and arrive at a meaningless ruling that benefits no-one?

 

[Gaston aires]

Why should Google allow their font to add credibility to private websites? There’s thousands of scammers out there.
I’m surprised they didn’t go for a much bigger sum.
Phil

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[Minxy]

It's not as simple as it first seems (my emphasis in bold) ...

A regional court in the German city of Munich has ordered a website operator to pay €100 in damages for transferring a user's personal data — i.e., IP address — to Google via the search giant's Fonts library without the individual's consent.​

​

The unauthorized disclosure of the plaintiff's IP address by the unnamed website to Google constitutes a contravention of the user's privacy rights, the court said, adding the website operator could theoretically combine the gathered information with other third-party data to identify the "persons behind the IP address."​

​

That's the issue ... if a person visits a website they don't expect their info to be passed on without them being notified beforehand and being able to object ... it's not simply about fonts.

 

[Gromett]

It's not as simple as it first seems (my emphasis in bold) ...

A regional court in the German city of Munich has ordered a website operator to pay €100 in damages for transferring a user's personal data — i.e., IP address — to Google via the search giant's Fonts library without the individual's consent.​

​

The unauthorized disclosure of the plaintiff's IP address by the unnamed website to Google constitutes a contravention of the user's privacy rights, the court said, adding the website operator could theoretically combine the gathered information with other third-party data to identify the "persons behind the IP address."​

​

That's the issue ... if a person visits a website they don't expect their info to be passed on without them being notified beforehand and being able to object ... it's not simply about fonts.

That is all clear from the article but is it right? Legally an IP on it's own is not personally identifiable data. I personally think this is stretching the original idea of GDPR. So along with the barrage of cookie messages we now have this to deal with.
It was a terrible bit of legislation in my view.

 

[Minxy]

That is all clear from the article but is it right? Legally an IP on it's own is not personally identifiable data. I personally think this is stretching the original idea of GDPR. So along with the barrage of cookie messages we now have this to deal with.
It was a terrible bit of legislation in my view.

I hear what you're saying but if it means the user can be identified from it for whatever reason then consent needs to be obtained.

 

[Tombola]

A simple mistake to make, but also a simple fix to put in place.
I too also think GDPR is a PITA, but its easy enough to protect yourself.

I get the feeling its a tactic to show they mean business, I bet many business throughut the eu after seeing this will be cheking the consent box is still working and the practices they use offline are still in place.

Since 2018 when it came fully introduced, we have had one person to ask us to ammortise their data. And we get a lot of visitors/customers

 

[Gromett]

A simple mistake to make, but also a simple fix to put in place.
I too also think GDPR is a PITA, but its easy enough to protect yourself.

I get the feeling its a tactic to show they mean business, I bet many business throughut the eu after seeing this will be cheking the consent box is still working and the practices they use offline are still in place.

Since 2018 when it came fully introduced, we have had one person to ask us to ammortise their data. And we get a lot of visitors/customers

They have also gone after google analytics for the same reason. I can understand that one as it is a tracker.

But basically everyone in the EU is now scrambling to remove google analytics from their website. Use Fathom seems to be making out ok out of this as they have segregated their network so EU data stays in the EU.

I hear what you're saying but if it means the user can be identified from it for whatever reason then consent needs to be obtained.

Here is the thing though, it is only because the data is leaving the EU there is an issue. So it is ok to take an EU citizens IP address providing you don't give it to anyone outside the EU.
My view is, it is either OK or it is not OK.

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[Minxy]

Since 2018 when it came fully introduced, we have had one person to ask us to ammortise their data. And we get a lot of visitors/customers

Not come across that word before.

 

[Tombola]

But basically everyone in the EU is now scrambling to remove google analytics from their website

really ?? I didnt know this, I best take a look

 

[Minxy]

Here is the thing though, it is only because the data is leaving the EU there is an issue. So it is ok to take an EU citizens IP address providing you don't give it to anyone outside the EU.
My view is, it is either OK or it is not OK.

Agreed, all or none.

 

[Tombola]

Not come across that word before.

neither had I till I read thats what we had to do,

 

[acropolis22]

Isn't it Google who are the culprits here? Apparently you cannot use anything of theirs without it secretly harvesting data?

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[Gromett]

really ?? I didnt know this, I best take a look

Shrems II

Austrian DSB: EU-US data transfers to Google Analytics illegal

In a groundbreaking decision, the Austrian Data Protection Authority has decided on a model case by noyb that the continuous use of Google Analytics violates the GDPR.

noyb.eu

 

[Gromett]

Is Google Analytics illegal in the EU? Yes and no, but mostly yes.

Using Google Analytics in a legally compliant way is still possible in Europe. Here we explain how.

tutanota.com

 

[Gromett]

This is the company I referred to before.

Fathom Analytics: A Better Google Analytics Alternative

Ditch complex, intrusive analytics for Fathom - a better Google analytics alternative. Experience ease of use, forever data retention & full legal compliance.

usefathom.com

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

Imagine the number of embedded Google components out there in third party sites/apps…

 

[Tombola]

seems like google are working on ways round this according to my adwords guy, not sure how. It is possible its similar to the facebook and IOS issues he says.

Apparently consent mode is being worked on atm in adwords, merchant centre and the like for enhanced conversions???

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[TDub49]

Oh well, the good news is that our government is on course to chuck things like GDPR in the bin so that we will all be at the mercy of the tech giants and whatever they choose to do with the data they harvest. Giving permission will be a thing of the past and recourse to the law non existent when your data has been "misused". Welcome to the wild west, or at least the tech nerds version of it . . . .

 

[acropolis22]

Oh well, the good news is that our government is on course to chuck things like GDPR in the bin so that we will all be at the mercy of the tech giants and whatever they choose to do with the data they harvest. Giving permission will be a thing of the past and recourse to the law non existent when your data has been "misused". Welcome to the wild west, or at least the tech nerds version of it . . . .

Suits me. I'm sick of ticking endless boxes to get on every website I visit. None of which seems to make any difference to the stream of spam emails. And I don't massively care what they do with my "data".

 

[Gromett]

Oh well, the good news is that our government is on course to chuck things like GDPR in the bin so that we will all be at the mercy of the tech giants and whatever they choose to do with the data they harvest. Giving permission will be a thing of the past and recourse to the law non existent when your data has been "misused". Welcome to the wild west, or at least the tech nerds version of it . . . .

They won't just drop it. They will strip it back to get rid of the stupid stuff that would poorly written and interpreted badly by the courts.

They won't get rid of the privacy law altogether.

 

[Gromett]

seems like google are working on ways round this according to my adwords guy, not sure how. It is possible its similar to the facebook and IOS issues he says.

Apparently consent mode is being worked on atm in adwords, merchant centre and the like for enhanced conversions???

Would be interesting to see how google manage to do that for analytics. The second you land on a web page you have provided the data. Too late to ask for permission.

 

[TDub49]

Suits me. I'm sick of ticking endless boxes to get on every website I visit. None of which seems to make any difference to the stream of spam emails. And I don't massively care what they do with my "data".

Each to their own.

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[Gromett]

I do care what they do with my data, which I why I for the most part don't use google and block their analytics.

Oh and to stop 3rd party cookies ( tracking) in firefox

Third-party cookies and Firefox tracking protection | Firefox Help

Some advertisers use third-party (cross-site) cookies to track your visits to the various websites on which they advertise. Learn more.

support.mozilla.org

You can look it up for chrome or any other browser.

 

[acropolis22]

I do care what they do with my data, which I why I for the most part don't use google and block their analytics.

Oh and to stop 3rd party cookies ( tracking) in firefox

Third-party cookies and Firefox tracking protection | Firefox Help

Some advertisers use third-party (cross-site) cookies to track your visits to the various websites on which they advertise. Learn more.

support.mozilla.org

You can look it up for chrome or any other browser.

Cheers. That's helpful, although I doubt I have fully understood it. It's a shame we have to spend hours trying to get our heads around all these technicalities to block these intrusive attacks on our privacy.

 

[TDub49]

No such thing as a free lunch. We're livestock to the big tech companies - they provide fodder in the shape of "free" access to various platforms and they milk us for the data we provide (whether willingly, knowingly or not) that they can monetise in so many ways. Altogether now "Mooooooo" . . . .

 

[LesW]

No such thing as a free lunch. We're livestock to the big tech companies - they provide fodder in the shape of "free" access to various platforms and they milk us for the data we provide (whether willingly, knowingly or not) that they can monetise in so many ways. Altogether now "Mooooooo" . . . .

So what?

What do you think will be the outcome of someone collecting 'data'.. How has it changed anything other than perhaps seeing adverts for something one did a search for.

I'm not an international spy, so I have no fear of 'them', besides silver foil isn't that expensive.