STOCKHOLM, February 25 (Xinhua) – A number of government agencies in Sweden pass on personal data belonging to individuals who visit their websites to Google despite the fact that they guaranteed anonymity, local media reported on Thursday.
More than 80 authorities and over 150 authorities pass on personal data in the form of IP addresses belonging to those who use their websites without informing them, according to Radio Sweden News.
The European Court of Justice has ruled that IP addresses can be used to identify individuals, according to the report.
The information is then stored on servers in the United States, which makes the issue more sensitive as personal data protection is not as strong as in the European Union.
One of the authorities that promises anonymity for website visitors is Statistics Sweden, which had more than 10 million visits last year, but IP addresses have still been forwarded to Google for more than two years.
“Of course, it is not good if what is communicated on our website is incorrect,” says Cecilia Weststrom, the agency’s communications director.
Since the report from Radio Sweden News, Statistics Sweden and the Public Prosecutor’s Office have reported to the Authority for Privacy Protection, while other authorities and authorities have removed Google Analytics from their websites.
Source: sn.dk