Google Maps & Google Fonts

Hello.

Today I received a notice from our legal department that the use of Google Maps may result in a warning.

Quote:
Many website operators are currently affected by a wave of warnings. The background is the use of the font package “Google Fonts”. This is used automatically when Google services such as the Maps service are integrated into a website. The problem is as follows: Google Fonts is not compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
And to solve this problem, Google Fonts would have to be removed and permission would have to be obtained for the use of Google services.

One should place more buttons on the map itself for accepting Google services or rejecting them. In addition, a link to Google “Privacy & Terms” should be placed. Only then will the map be loaded and displayed.

Accepting the general cookie(s) and the privacy policy is not enough, because fonts are reloaded in Maps that are not stored locally in the website.

The whole thing may be overly German, but better safe than sorry.

Mr. F.

Thanks @Mr_Fozzie for this great update! :slight_smile:
For me this GDPR is seriously going to far and making a mess of the web! :frowning:

1 Like

I agree.

There are too many underemployed lawyers who want to supplement their salaries this way.

And there are too many website operators - even private ones - who don’t think enough about what can happen on the web.

Mr. F.

1 Like

What I find odd about this is Google Maps itself would do all the data collection that Google is (or has never denied to be) doing with Google Fonts, so what would be the point?

Regardless, Sparkle is not using Google Fonts directly in any form, and if you have the privacy support enabled the maps will not be loaded until visitor consent.

I am surprised that placing a button separately on the Google Maps would be required. I am not a lawyer, but this sounds like an overreaching interpretation of GDPR, that while wild on its own is probably appeased by the annoyance of a single banner that links to the terms of all used services.

This is quite possible.

I’ll send you a link to a German-language website where this is described and the 2-click variant is preferred.

Maybe Sparkle can offer the OpenStreetMap* service when embedding a map.

I am not a lawyer or a jurist either.

Mr. F.

*OpenStreetMap has some hidden traps as well.

1 Like

Perhaps this new mapping service that you can embed on your site would be suitable?

2 Likes

Some good news:

https://www.ifun.de/staatsanwaltschaft-geht-gegen-google-fonts-abmahner-vor-200875/

1 Like