Is Google Analytics Legal in Your Country? (2026)

How Europe got here

Each entry shows when it was last updated against primary sources. Where a full guide exists, it's linked.

The story starts in July 2020, when the EU's highest court struck down Privacy Shield, the deal that made data transfers to US companies easy (the Schrems II ruling). One month later, the privacy group noyb filed 101 complaints against European websites using Google Analytics and Facebook's tools. Those complaints landed on regulators' desks across the continent, and between December 2021 and mid-2023, seven of them concluded that using Google Analytics broke the GDPR.

In July 2023 a new deal, the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, restored a legal basis for those transfers. It survived its first court challenge in September 2025, when the EU's General Court dismissed the Latombe case and upheld the framework. An appeal is now pending at the Court of Justice. Both of the DPF's predecessors died at that court, which is why the cover it provides is best described as real but fragile. Meanwhile the Digital Omnibus proposal from November 2025 would allow consent-free, privacy-respecting audience measurement across the whole EU. Still a proposal, not law.

That's the frame. Here's every country, one by one.

The countries that acted on Google Analytics

🇦🇹 Austria · Last updated: Jul 14, 2026

Austria went first. In December 2021 the DSB ruled that using Google Analytics violated the GDPR, and that even IP anonymization didn't fix it. Austria has no analytics consent exemption: every analytics cookie needs prior opt-in. About a third of Austrian websites dropped GA after the ruling. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in Austria?

🇫🇷 France · Last updated: Jul 17, 2026

CNIL ordered French sites to stop using Google Analytics in February 2022, and has issued nearly 900 million euros in cookie fines since 2020, including 575 million against Google itself. France also runs Europe's best-known analytics exemption: first-party tools with no cross-site tracking and no third-party sharing can skip the banner entirely. Google Analytics doesn't qualify. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in France?

🇮🇹 Italy · Last updated: Jul 11, 2026

The Garante declared Google Analytics illegal in June 2022 and gave the site in question 90 days to comply. Nine months later, 82% of Italian websites still ran it. Italy allows consent-free analytics under four conditions: IP masking, no cross-site tracking, no third-party sharing, aggregated statistics only. GA fails all four. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in Italy?

🇩🇰 Denmark · Last updated: Jul 13, 2026

Datatilsynet declared Google Analytics non-compliant in September 2022, and it has never called GA4 lawful since, even after the DPF. Denmark has zero analytics exemptions, and cookie enforcement is a stated priority for 2026. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in Denmark?

🇫🇮 Finland · Last updated: Jul 16, 2026

Finland's Data Protection Ombudsman has named Google Analytics in three decisions since 2023, including the country's largest tracking fine: 1.1 million euros against a pharmacy running GA and the Meta Pixel on health pages. A court annulled that fine in June 2026 on public-sector grounds while affirming the violations; the ruling isn't final. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in Finland?

🇸🇪 Sweden · Last updated: Jul 6, 2026

Sweden is the only EU country that fined companies for using Google Analytics itself: 12 million kronor for Tele2 and 300,000 for CDON in June 2023. The Tele2 fine was upheld on appeal in October 2025. No analytics exemption exists. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in Sweden?

🇳🇴 Norway · Last updated: Jul 9, 2026

Datatilsynet found Google Analytics unlawful in the Telenor case, and its 2025 guidance still advises businesses to keep an "exit strategy" for US transfers. Since January 2025, Norway also requires GDPR-grade opt-in consent for analytics cookies, closing what used to be the weakest cookie rule in the EEA. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in Norway?

These countries never ruled on GA by name. Their general cookie-consent law applies in full, which in practice means GA needs a compliant banner, and most visitors never make it past one.

🇩🇪 Germany · Last updated: Jul 12, 2026

No single German ruling on GA, but 18 separate supervisory authorities, a 2019 complaint wave that dumped roughly 200,000 Google Analytics reports on them, and a blanket consent requirement under the TDDDG with no analytics exemption. Since a 2025 federal court ruling, competitors can even send cease-and-desist letters over privacy violations. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in Germany?

🇳🇱 Netherlands · Last updated: Jul 10, 2026

The Netherlands has a statutory analytics exemption (first-party only, anonymized IPs, no cross-site tracking, no sharing) that Google Analytics fails, and the regulator quietly withdrew its old guide for privacy-friendly GA setups. It monitors 10,000 Dutch websites a year for cookie compliance. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in the Netherlands?

🇧🇪 Belgium · Last updated: Jul 15, 2026

Belgium requires consent for every analytics cookie, first-party included; industry associations asked for an exemption and the APD said no. The same regulator declared the IAB consent framework behind most of Europe's cookie banners non-compliant in 2022. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in Belgium?

🇪🇸 Spain · Last updated: Jul 7, 2026

The AEPD has issued more individual GDPR fines than any other EU authority, and since January 2024 it allows consent-free analytics under strict conditions Google Analytics doesn't meet. On GA itself it split: it dismissed the complaint against the Royal Spanish Academy but ordered eDreams to stop GA transfers to the US. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in Spain?

🇵🇱 Poland · Last updated: Jul 8, 2026

No analytics exemption under the 2024 Electronic Communications Act, and the Google Analytics complaints noyb filed in 2020 are still sitting undecided at UODO. Poland is also Europe's ad-blocking capital, so cookie-based analytics miss most Polish traffic twice over. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in Poland?

🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Last updated: Jul 5, 2026

The ICO has never issued a cookie fine in PECR's two decades. Since February 2026, the Data (Use and Access) Act allows analytics cookies with an opt-out instead of consent, but only when the provider acts solely as your processor. Google Analytics almost certainly doesn't qualify. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in the UK?

🇮🇪 Ireland · Last updated: Aug 1, 2026

The DPC, Google's lead regulator in the EU, has never ruled on Google Analytics while seven of its peers did. Irish consent rules under SI 336/2011 apply in full, with no analytics exemption. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in Ireland?

🇱🇺 Luxembourg · Last updated: Jul 30, 2026

The CNPD has never named GA. Analytics cookies need consent, a narrow first-party exemption exists that a stock GA4 setup fails, and the 746 million euro Amazon fine is back on the regulator's desk after a court annulled it on procedure in March 2026 while affirming the violations. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in Luxembourg?

🇭🇺 Hungary · Last updated: Jul 28, 2026

The closest thing to a GA ruling outside the countries above: NAIH ordered the weather site Idokep to remove Google Analytics in November 2022 over US transfers, and fined broadcaster TV2 because rejecting cookies took two clicks while accepting took one. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in Hungary?

🇮🇸 Iceland · Last updated: Jul 24, 2026

GDPR applies via the EEA. Personuvernd promised guidance on Google Analytics in January 2022 and never published it. Instead it fined five municipalities over Google Workspace student data, then revoked the fines in 2026 after a Supreme Court ruling, with the violation findings still standing. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in Iceland?

The opt-out exception: Switzerland

🇨🇭 Switzerland · Last updated: Jul 26, 2026

Switzerland isn't in the EU or the EEA, so the GDPR stops at its border. The revised FADP has applied since September 2023, and Swiss cookie law is inform-and-object: no consent banner required. Fines are criminal, capped at 250,000 francs, and target responsible individuals rather than companies; the first published one was 600 francs against a company lawyer. The FDPIC's 2025 guidance allows consent-free analytics only when the provider processes data solely on your behalf, a test a stock GA4 setup arguably fails. Full guide: Is Google Analytics legal in Switzerland?

The smaller markets, briefly

No full guides yet for these countries (Greece, Croatia and Romania are next in line), but here's where each one stands.

Greece. Last updated: Aug 3, 2026 · Law 3471/2006 requires consent for cookies and tracking, with HDPA consent guidance dating back to 2011. No GA-specific ruling.

Croatia. Last updated: Aug 3, 2026 · AZOP has started fining cookie practices: 15,000 and 20,000 euros against betting operators in 2025 for consent failures, including cookies loaded before consent.

Romania. Last updated: Aug 3, 2026 · ANSPDCP fined "There's an AI for That" 30,000 lei (about 6,000 euros) in late 2025 for setting non-essential cookies without consent under Law 506/2004.

Portugal. Last updated: Aug 3, 2026 · The CNPD opened 3,201 cases in 2025 and issued two fines totaling 47,000 euros, neither about cookies. Enforcement is thin, by the regulator's own account.

Czechia. Last updated: Aug 3, 2026 · Cookie consent became opt-in in January 2022 under the amended Electronic Communications Act. No GA-specific action.

Slovakia. Last updated: Aug 3, 2026 · Cookie enforcement belongs to the telecom regulator, which has run over a hundred website inspections and issued over 80,000 euros in fines; the data protection authority itself has no cookie focus.

Slovenia. Last updated: Aug 3, 2026 · The Information Commissioner's 2023 cookie guidelines state that tools like Google Analytics need explicit consent before installation. No enforcement action on GA.

Lithuania. Last updated: Aug 3, 2026 · VDAI ran a nationwide cookie sweep of websites in 2024 and published its findings in 2025, explicitly covering analytics cookies including Google Analytics. Guidance so far, not fines.

Latvia. Last updated: Aug 3, 2026 · DVI published cookie guidelines and audited websites in 2022, and has been quiet on the topic since.

Estonia. Last updated: Aug 3, 2026 · AKI handled the noyb Google Analytics complaints as part of the EU-wide task force and reported in April 2023 that it ordered site operators to suspend US transfers where needed. Minimal fining otherwise.

Bulgaria. Last updated: Aug 3, 2026 · KZLD guidance says cookie walls without a reject option aren't valid consent, and that Google Analytics needs consent unless fully anonymized. No enforcement on record.

Cyprus. Last updated: Aug 3, 2026 · The Commissioner for Personal Data Protection has published no cookie- or GA-specific enforcement or guidance that we could find.

Malta. Last updated: Aug 3, 2026 · The IDPC's cookie guidance rules out scroll-consent and pre-ticked boxes. No cookie enforcement on record.

Liechtenstein. Last updated: Aug 3, 2026 · An EEA member, so the GDPR applies. The Datenschutzstelle allows simple banner-free analytics on French-style conditions, and itself flags that Google Analytics typically doesn't qualify.

What could change next

Two things. The Digital Omnibus would turn the French-style analytics exemption into the EU default; it's still a proposal. And the DPF appeal at the Court of Justice decides whether the legal basis under every GA deployment in Europe survives a third test at the court that killed the first two. If it doesn't, the map above snaps back to 2022.

Keep reading

Do I need a cookie banner? Decision flowchart for EU, UK, and US rules. Privacy-friendly analytics guide How cookieless tools work across the EU. Analytics without a cookie banner What qualifies, what doesn't, and why. The EU Digital Omnibus Act A proposed analytics exemption across all 27 member states. Is your analytics script a wiretap? The US lawsuits reshaping cookie enforcement. Is Google Analytics legal in 2026? The long-form legal explainer.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Google Analytics banned in Europe?

Not EU-wide, but Austria, France, and Italy have individually ruled it illegal. All EU countries require consent before loading GA.

Which countries have ruled Google Analytics illegal?

Austria (December 2021, first EU ban), France (February 2022), and Italy (June 2022). Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway also issued related warnings.

Can I use Google Analytics with consent?

Technically yes in most countries, but consent rejection rates of 60-75% mean you only see a fraction of your actual traffic.

Does the EU-US Data Privacy Framework make Google Analytics legal?

The DPF restored a legal basis for US transfers in July 2023, and the EU's General Court upheld it against the first challenge in September 2025. An appeal is now pending at the CJEU. Both of the DPF's predecessors were struck down at that same court, which is why regulators still describe the cover as fragile.

What analytics tool works without consent in the EU?

Privacy-first analytics tools that don't use cookies, don't track across sites, and don't transfer data to the US can operate under legitimate interest or specific national exemptions. Clickport is one such tool.

Will I still get my Search Console keyword data if I switch?

Yes. Search Console is a free Google product separate from Google Analytics, and Clickport connects to it directly. The search queries, clicks, impressions, CTR, and ranking positions show up inside the dashboard alongside your visit data, with the same date range and filters. See how it works. And if you decide to move, the migration guide covers the whole switch, including importing your GA4 history.

This page provides general guidance on Google Analytics' legal status across Europe. It is not legal advice. Consult qualified legal counsel for your specific situation.

Is Google Analytics legal in your country?