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#1 2018-06-07 07:48:06

Pixelmover
Member
From: Wiesbaden, Germany
Registered: 2017-02-14
Posts: 46
Website

EU Data Protection and Google fonts

On May 25, 2018, the EU Data Protection Basic Regulation enters into force. One of the effects for web designers and designers: No fonts (fonts, web fonts) from non-EU foreign countries may be reloaded on websites.

So my question is:
Google fonts used in backlight are integrated in backlight or be reloaded it from google?

Thanks in advance


Pixelmover Rainer
Learn for a lifetime

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#2 2018-06-07 07:52:37

rod barbee
Moderator
From: Port Ludlow, WA USA
Registered: 2012-09-24
Posts: 17,830
Website

Re: EU Data Protection and Google fonts

Google fonts are loaded from Google.
For example, I'm using the "Lato" font from Google on my test site.
This line is added to the page source code, calling the font from Google:

<link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Lato:400,400italic,700,700italic,300' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>

Rod 
Just a user with way too much time on his hands.
www.rodbarbee.com
ttg-tips.com, Backlight 2/3 test site

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#3 2018-06-07 08:08:58

Matthew
Administrator
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: 2012-09-24
Posts: 5,795
Website

Re: EU Data Protection and Google fonts

Backlight's admin is actually using a locally stored copy of the Lato font.

Have gotta say, though, that aspect of the EU regulation is bloody stupid.


Matt

The Turning Gate, http://theturninggate.net

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#4 2018-06-07 08:54:55

Daniel Leu
Moderator
Registered: 2012-10-11
Posts: 1,624
Website

Re: EU Data Protection and Google fonts

rod barbee wrote:

Google fonts are loaded from Google.
For example, I'm using the "Lato" font from Google on my test site.
This line is added to the page source code, calling the font from Google:

<link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Lato:400,400italic,700,700italic,300' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>

If you are inclined to do it, you can host it on your own server. There are many tutorials out there, but this seems to be one of the easiest ones: https://canonicalized.com/local-font/

The css code belongs into your custom.css and the path to the font files needs to be adjusted as well.


Daniel Leu | Photography   
DanielLeu.com
My digital playground (eg, Backlight tips&tricks): lab.DanielLeu.com

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#5 2018-06-08 23:25:28

Pixelmover
Member
From: Wiesbaden, Germany
Registered: 2017-02-14
Posts: 46
Website

Re: EU Data Protection and Google fonts

How can I see which google fonts are used on my site?


Pixelmover Rainer
Learn for a lifetime

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#6 2018-06-08 23:53:46

Daniel Leu
Moderator
Registered: 2012-10-11
Posts: 1,624
Website

Re: EU Data Protection and Google fonts

Pixelmover wrote:

How can I see which google fonts are used on my site?

That's something you elected to use when you designed your page. AFAIK, your site doesn't use google fonts.


Daniel Leu | Photography   
DanielLeu.com
My digital playground (eg, Backlight tips&tricks): lab.DanielLeu.com

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#7 2018-06-08 23:58:44

rod barbee
Moderator
From: Port Ludlow, WA USA
Registered: 2012-09-24
Posts: 17,830
Website

Re: EU Data Protection and Google fonts

If you’ve added Google fonts you have either added them in your Page template or via custom css.
What Matt was referring to above is the fact that the Admin section of Backlight (something your visitors don’t see) uses the Lato Google Font, which is hosted on the TTG site and not being sourced from google.com.

you can look at the page source code to see what Google font you're loading. See #2 above.


Rod 
Just a user with way too much time on his hands.
www.rodbarbee.com
ttg-tips.com, Backlight 2/3 test site

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#8 2018-06-09 00:20:19

rod barbee
Moderator
From: Port Ludlow, WA USA
Registered: 2012-09-24
Posts: 17,830
Website

Re: EU Data Protection and Google fonts

If you want to see what fonts your (or other) sites are using without needing to look at css, What Font is a pretty cool tool:
http://www.chengyinliu.com/whatfont.html


Rod 
Just a user with way too much time on his hands.
www.rodbarbee.com
ttg-tips.com, Backlight 2/3 test site

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#9 2018-06-09 01:22:10

Pixelmover
Member
From: Wiesbaden, Germany
Registered: 2017-02-14
Posts: 46
Website

Re: EU Data Protection and Google fonts

Without the community, I would be lost.

Thanks to all for the help and the tips.

Last edited by Pixelmover (2018-06-09 01:25:36)


Pixelmover Rainer
Learn for a lifetime

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#10 2018-06-09 03:40:46

Matthew
Administrator
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: 2012-09-24
Posts: 5,795
Website

Re: EU Data Protection and Google fonts

Perhaps worth noting, Google more than likely makes its fonts available via CDN. Meaning that while Google is a US-based company, your visitors are probably downloading assets (fonts, in this case) from closer to home. Your European visitors are probably loading from servers based in the EU; Asian visitors from servers located in Asia; North American visitors from servers located on one coast or the other of North America; and so on ...

I don't know how or whether this type of data distribution factors into the EU regulation discussed above. CDNs are typically used to ensure fast Web response and to ensure systems availability and durability. But this is another reason the regulation sounds wrongheaded to me. You, as a user, have no way of dictating from which location you want these assets to be sourced. Because of the way CDNs generally work, it's probably a nonissue. But if it ever were to become an issue, it's bewildering that you should have to bear legal responsibility for it.


Matt

The Turning Gate, http://theturninggate.net

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#11 2018-06-09 05:38:28

Pixelmover
Member
From: Wiesbaden, Germany
Registered: 2017-02-14
Posts: 46
Website

Re: EU Data Protection and Google fonts

Matthew wrote:

Perhaps worth noting, Google more ....... responsibility for it.

Thanks for these interesting lines. In germany there is currently a big discussion about the usefulness of this EU regulation.
It remains to be seen how the courts decide in disputes.
I will definitely keep an eye on the topic.


Pixelmover Rainer
Learn for a lifetime

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#12 2018-06-09 06:51:02

Ben
Moderator
From: Melbourne, Australia
Registered: 2012-09-29
Posts: 4,399

Re: EU Data Protection and Google fonts

Matthew wrote:

Have gotta say, though, that aspect of the EU regulation is bloody stupid.

Apparently this is in response to Google logging IP addresses of font requests and using it for analytics.  In that case, relying on picking up the fonts from local edge servers probably wouldn't help.  Keeping a copy on your own site would be the solution.

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