Google Fonts: Response by Google

Jan 4, 2023 Benn-Ibler Rechtsanwälte

In a blog post dated 18 November 2022, Google responded to the wave of warnings resulting from the embedding of Google fonts. These recent events were the reason for the following statement.

To begin with, Google explains that Google Fonts is a library of open source fonts and a web API (application programming interface for a web server or web browser) that can be used to embed these fonts into a website. Users want websites that have a nice design and are easy to use. In addition, users want their privacy to be respected, and that is what Google does, according to the statement. The Google Fonts Web API is designed to limit the collection, storage and use of data to what is necessary for the efficient delivery of fonts and aggregated usage statistics. According to Google, the information collected by Google Fonts is not used for any other purpose, including but not limited to user profiling or advertising. The fact that Google’s servers necessarily receive IP addresses for the transmission of the fonts corresponds to the usual functioning of the Internet and is therefore self-evident.

With this statement, Google comments on the wave of warnings about Google Fonts in Germany and Austria. The only way out is to embed the fonts locally.

18 November 2022: Google Fonts Blog: Your Privacy and Google Fonts (googleblog.com)