Gov Tax Application: the dangerous liaison between the French State and Google
The Google Play license is a tool for Android application developers, used to protect their source code. It ensures that only authorized users access the service, via an exchange of identifiers between the terminal and the Google Play servers. This makes it possible to impose usage restrictions, such as the number of downloads per account or even a defined period of use.
What is the Google Play license?
Thus, before using the application, users must accept the conditions of use of the Google Play license, therefore by extension the conditions of use and data processing of Google.
A public service dependent on Google
It is therefore this service, the Google Play license, which has just been added to Govt Tax Android app. Is it a problem ? Yes ! First of all, it creates a system of dependency between the owner of the application (here, the French State) and the access provider (here, Google). A real risk, if Google decides one day, for example, to modify the use or the terms of its Google Play license.
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1/2 We have just discovered that the French gov application https://t.co/EDXlBsCYQq now refuses to start on Android if the Google Play Licensing service doesn’t pass.https://t.co/kspOKQatwT— ＧΛËＬ ＤＵＶΛＬ 💻📱🐧 @gael@mastodon.social (@gael_duval) January 3, 2023
This also raises the question of the freedom of use of a public service by users. To put it simply, to use a central application of the French public service, you must accept the conditions of use of a private, American company service, which has been repeatedly challenged for its data management. If the user does not wish to approve the T&Cs, then he cannot access his tax information from the dedicated application.
Against the CNIL
A use totally inconsistent with the regulatory and legal foundations of the public service, but just as illogical with the recommendations of the CNIL regarding Google services. For example, the Commission very strongly encourages people to no longer use Google Analytics to monitor the statistics of a site, due to the vagueness surrounding the processing of personal data and their storage in the USA, outside the area of GDPR influence.
With any luck, the Impôt Gov application will come back to this choice as soon as possible. In the meantime, you can still access your tax information from the official site which works without a Google license! Don’t forget when to ask for your fuel check from January 16th!
