Google Analytics breaks Norwegian privacy laws, agency says

The Norwegian Tax Administration and the State Educational Loan Fund's use of Google Analytics violate the country's privacy laws, because the agencies have no control over how Google uses information about users, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority said.

The authority, which has a history of keeping U.S. IT companies on a short leash, last year took a closer look at how the two organizations used Google Analytics, which is a free service that allows websites to keep track of traffic. The authority has found that agencies' use of the analysis tool is not in accordance with Norwegian law, according to preliminary findings. Google Analytics collects IP (Internet Protocol) addresses and information about visitor behavior. Since the data can be traced back to an individual, businesses that collect information have to make certain that it is anonymized and used only for statistical purposes, the Data Protection Authority said.