Absolutely fantastic news, google has decided to not just comply with GDPR legislation for EU citizens but to extend it globally. This is a major turning point. Sure, maybe their hand was forced a bit but they did it with minimal fuss, hats off to them. Amongst other things, google will no longer target ads based on our email content and personally identifiable data gathered using google analytics (which almost every website uses) will be able to be deleted if requested by the site.
Let’s not get carried way though. It’s not like google have decided to do no evil, they’re just complying with the upcoming GDPR laws – and applying it globally. Google have been doing all sorts of things with our private information for years, and will continue to do so, but they read the writing on the wall, and prepared, realigned themselves and got ahead of the curve. Size does matter and even the mighty google can’t ignore the world’s largest consumer market (being the EU does have it’s many benefits). If some 800 million Europeans can have privacy and data protection, why can’t everyone, everywhere. In the end they’ll ask for it anyway and google quite rightly needs to protect it’s business model as best they can. But I am impressed that google appears to be going the extra mile without being forced to.
Realistically, coupled with GDPR, all people would need would be a little prod to realise what was going on with their information, something say like Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, to begin to finally understand that there is no such thing as free and demand change. If it’s ‘free’, you are the product after all. I’m guessing that right now Facebook wishes it had been a little more astute and proactive in protecting it’s business model. Maybe spending a little less time trying to make their settings so difficult to figure out that almost everyone gave up trying to change them and alot more time thinking about what others were doing with all that information.
A big thank you google and for those interested or needing to learn more, there’s more info on google analytics changes here.