The Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY) has challenged Google’s widely used Analytics platform at a time when crypto marketers are already roasting the tool for its usability issues.
With the watchdog also warning of potential surveillance risks, the implications for businesses navigating the crypto market are significant.
Crypto Marketers Despise Google Analytics 4
“Today, we begin shutting down Universal Analytics as we welcome you to Google Analytics 4,” said Google Analytics on Saturday, July 1. “This will not happen overnight… However, all properties have now been added to the queue,” added the web analytics provider.
Crypto marketers responded to the mandatory switchover from Universal Analytics (UA) to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) with an outcry. Many express discontent over the new platform’s perceived drop in usability and robustness.
On the other hand, some have held mock funerals for Universal Analytics, hoping Google might reconsider.
Marketing forums have been ablaze with criticisms and woes. These range from cryptic one-liners such as “no one is gonna use it” and “thanks for nothing folks” to more nuanced critiques.
The overarching sentiment rings clear. A platform that crypto marketers have trusted for over a decade now leaves them feeling betrayed.
It is not just griping either. One crypto marketer’s reaction underscores the heart of the issue:
“It is a massive PITA! Particularly if you are accustomed to UA and it is visualizations. You pretty much have to pull everything out of GA4 and create reports and dashboards manually.”
Risk of United States Government Surveillance
This transition period has been exacerbated by the recent declaration from the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection. The IMY issued a stark warning to businesses in Sweden over the use of Google Analytics.
Echoing the concerns of counterparts in Austria, France, and Italy, the Swedish watchdog flagged the risk of US government surveillance as the main reason behind its advisement.
“IMY considers that the data transferred to the US via Google’s statistics tool is personal data because the data can be linked with other unique data that is transferred. The authority also concludes that the technical security measures that the companies have taken are not sufficient to ensure a level of protection,” reads the report.
For businesses operating in the EU, compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is non-negotiable. Yet, IMY’s audits revealed that the data transferred to the US via Google Analytics constituted personal data, breaching the GDPR.
This has far-reaching implications, particularly for businesses in the crypto sector. Crypto marketers heavily rely on data analytics tools like Google Analytics to glean insights about their users and the effectiveness of their campaigns.
If authorities declare the tool non-compliant with the GDPR, these businesses may face a tough predicament of balancing data-driven decision-making with regulatory compliance.
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