Google Adheres to EU Privacy Shield Framework & Collection of Personal Identifiable Information

Written by Julian Erbsloeh - 11 Oct 2016

What’s new?

If you are a Google Analytics user you may have noticed an announcement relating to Google adhering to EU/US Privacy Framework

Google's privacy shield announcement

Source: https://analytics.googleblog.com/2016/08/google-analytics-adopts-privacy-shield.html

At the end of August Google announced its adherence to the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework. In a brief press release relating to this announcement, Google said:

“The Privacy Shield establishes a new framework for transfers of personal data from Europe to the United States. It is a significant milestone for the protection of Europeans’ personal data, legal certainty of transatlantic businesses, and trust in the digital economy.”

What is the Privacy Framework?

Essentially a promise to protect personal identifiable information (PII) when exchanged between the EU & US for commercial purposes.

What is Personal Identifiable Information (PII)?

PII is any data that could potentially identify a specific individual. So, any information that can be used to distinguish one person from another and can be used for de-anonymizing anonymous data can be considered PII. This could include simple information such as names or email addresses or more complicated data such as geolocations.

Why is this important to you?

Google has a strict policy on how PII can or cannot be collected and subsequently used. Businesses collect data on users in many different ways and it may not always be clear as to whether you are breaching any of these guidelines.

No PII must be collected by your Google Analytics account for you to be in green.

How can I check this?

If you think could inadvertently be in breach of Google’s PII policy by how you are collecting your customers data via your website, Fresh Egg can perform a free Google Analytics Spot Check on your account to provide a definitive answer. If you have specific questions or simply want to find out more, give us a call on 01903 285 900, where one of our consultants will be happy to help.