Since the CNIL’s legal argument is valid for many other American digital tools, the association calls on public authorities to seize this opportunity to help data controllers identify alternative European solutions, and to support the transition to solutions. sovereigns respectful of European law.

The CNIL’s decision to prohibit the use of Google Analytics is a direct consequence of the “Schrems II” judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) of July 16, 2020. It allows the authority France to remind firmly that in the European digital space, it is not optional to respect European law. The CNIL makes it clear that this right is unfortunately constantly violated when players export personal data from Europeans to the USA despite the cancellation of the Privacy Shield, which itself followed the cancellation of Safe Harbor. It therefore recalls the paramount importance of identifying, adopting and developing European alternatives which avoid such illicit transfers.

As the judicial authorities have pointed out several times, the legal system of the United States is not sufficiently protective of the rights of European Internet users and the security of their data. It is everyone’s responsibility to protect this data. The relentless analysis of the CNIL concerning the use of Google Analytics will therefore apply with the same effects for a whole series of non-European tools and services used most often under the effect of dominant positions that sit on illegal behavior.

The CNIL’s decision to require the use of solutions other than Google Analytics, and to no longer export personal data to the United States, is therefore an important opportunity that European public authorities and entrepreneurs must seize together to adopt , promote and build solutions that strengthen European strategic autonomy in the digital space. These solutions exist in terms of audience analysis as in many other technological fields, and other solutions will emerge and develop. Entrepreneurs are doing their part, and the State must develop an active strategy to help the emergence of these European solutions and promote their visibility and adoption with a support plan for the transition.