French data watchdog CNIL has criticized the way Google parent Alphabet handles user data. According to the regulator, data of citizens of the European Union is not sufficiently protected against being able to view by American secret services. An important part of Google that keeps track of all kinds of data about people’s behavior on the internet, Google Analytics, could therefore be banned.
The Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) said the “additional steps” Google has taken to make Analytics more secure “are not enough to keep data away from US intelligence agencies.” For example, Google Analytics keeps track of how many visitors a particular website has. Transferring that data to the United States “is not currently sufficiently regulated,” according to the French regulator.
In 2013, whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed spying practices at the US Secret Service NSA, the National Security Agency. Two years ago, the European Court ruled that regulators should do more to protect citizens’ data against espionage.
Recently, large American tech companies have been criticized more often by European authorities. Facebook mother Meta has already threatened to remove Facebook and Instagram from the European market because of the current European legislation.
A Russian regulator has announced a fine for Google, it was also announced today. Video service YouTube is said to have violated competition rules by removing certain videos and accounts. The amount of money will be determined later.
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