Google modifies Analytics in EU-wide privacy concession

Following mounting pressure from data protection agencies (DPAs) in different European countries, Google has started offering so-called data processing agreements to websites using its Google Analytics suite in the European Union, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland.

Up to now Google did not provide such contracts because it maintains that it does not process personal data. Since 2011 it has offered such agreements only in Germany, after demands from the German DPA. In a way it's also a preemptive move by Google, as Europe is moving towards a new, uniform and in some respects stricter privacy regulation, said privacy expert Herman van Braam, owner of Dutch hosting service Privyon. Under the new regime, which is still being ironed out in Brussels, one national DPA will rule on privacy issues for the whole EU, and fines can be up to two percent of the worldwide revenue of a company. In Google's case, that means potential fines of up to $1 billion.