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FWIW, Google blatantly ignores the GDPR and continues to track all users from the European Economic Area unless they opt out. If you log out of Google, clear al

FWIW, Google blatantly ignores the GDPR and continues to track all users from the European Economic Area unless they opt out. If you log out of Google, clear all Google cookies, and visit https://adssettings.google.com/anonymous https://adssettings.google.com/anonymous from the EEA, you'll find that "Ads Personalization on Google Search" is enabled by default and that the default state of "Ads Personalization Across the Web" is indiscernible.

beberlei 8y ago
It is not illegal to track users only if they opt out, by citing legitimate interest as the ground for processing not consent. That is how all privacy policy generators and lawyers handle google analytics, facebook pixel, even self hosted solutions like piwik/matomo. We will need to sit out what legimitate interests really mean, but at least in germany there are some state privacy agencies that put forth this approach where you allow to opt out.
- BlackFly 8y ago
  While I think it may be easy to argue that use of Matomo is legitimate for the purposes of improving your service (and as a corollary, this can legitimately be outsourced), I think it is a stretch to conclude that it is legitimate for the third party to assemble a dossier of an individual by tracking them across multiple sites for which analytics are outsourced to the third party. This seems obvious since the third party is not going to expose details about the data subjects use of the other sites so it cannot be of legitimate interest to the primary controller. If they did share such data with the primary controller, the privacy violation is so egregious it cannot hope to pass a balancing test to be considered legitimate. So while something like piwik may be allowed to be opt out, I think google may be treading on thin ice.
  - beberlei 8y ago
    I agree, and Google is probably well aware that they tread on thin ice and they will probably fight their version of legimitate interst up to the European Court of Justice.
- nwellnhof 8y ago
  I doubt that user tracking for personalized ads is a legitimate interest, especially in the case of Google search. Tracking users without consent also contradicts Google's own privavy policy. From https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en#enforcement https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en#enforcement > For example, we ask for your consent to provide you with personalized services like ads. No, they apparently don't.
a_imho 8y ago
Facebook too, one can't access feed or chat unless they accept the terms including broad spectrum tracking. Meanwhile FB happily handling all the personal information associated with the account. This is without going into the problem of shadow accounts.

beberlei 8y ago

It is not illegal to track users only if they opt out, by citing legitimate interest as the ground for processing not consent. That is how all privacy policy generators and lawyers handle google analytics, facebook pixel, even self hosted solutions like piwik/matomo. We will need to sit out what legimitate interests really mean, but at least in germany there are some state privacy agencies that put forth this approach where you allow to opt out.

BlackFly 8y ago
While I think it may be easy to argue that use of Matomo is legitimate for the purposes of improving your service (and as a corollary, this can legitimately be outsourced), I think it is a stretch to conclude that it is legitimate for the third party to assemble a dossier of an individual by tracking them across multiple sites for which analytics are outsourced to the third party. This seems obvious since the third party is not going to expose details about the data subjects use of the other sites so it cannot be of legitimate interest to the primary controller. If they did share such data with the primary controller, the privacy violation is so egregious it cannot hope to pass a balancing test to be considered legitimate. So while something like piwik may be allowed to be opt out, I think google may be treading on thin ice.
- beberlei 8y ago
  I agree, and Google is probably well aware that they tread on thin ice and they will probably fight their version of legimitate interst up to the European Court of Justice.
nwellnhof 8y ago
I doubt that user tracking for personalized ads is a legitimate interest, especially in the case of Google search. Tracking users without consent also contradicts Google's own privavy policy. From https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en#enforcement https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en#enforcement > For example, we ask for your consent to provide you with personalized services like ads. No, they apparently don't.

a_imho 8y ago

Facebook too, one can't access feed or chat unless they accept the terms including broad spectrum tracking. Meanwhile FB happily handling all the personal information associated with the account. This is without going into the problem of shadow accounts.