Germany May Ban Google Analytics
Google Analytics, the world’s most popular website statistical analysis system, could be illegal in Germany. Government officials responsible for national data protection are attempting to ban Analytics on the grounds that it breaches privacy laws.
Collating detailed web statistics used to be a time-consuming task. Site owners either resorted to rudimentary page counters or web server log analyzers such as AWstats or WebTrends. Although these provide valuable data, the information is generally better suited for systems administrators rather than Internet marketers.
Google acquired Analytics from Urchin Software in April 2005. Although it was originally a commercial package, Google re-branded the system and permitted unlimited free use from 2006. Rather than analyzing log files, Analytics uses a JavaScript snippet which is placed on every page of a website. The code collects visitor data and sends it to Google’s servers for processing.
The success of Google Analytics causes concern for German privacy protection officials. Conceivably, Google would be able to track an individual’s movements throughout the web and collate information from websites that hold personal data, such as banks and insurance companies. In theory, Google could create profiles that include information about a person’s interests, career, lifestyle, wealth, health, political and sexual preferences. If that individual has a Google account, the company could match a profile against a known user.
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