Since July, website operators in the DACH region have been receiving warnings in connection with the use of fonts they have acquired via Google Fonts. Specifically, 100 euros in damages and 90 euros in reimbursement of costs for the intervention of the lawyer are demanded.

For the amount of the claim for damages, reference is made to a judgement of a German court (LG München, ruling of 20 January 2022 Az. 3 O 17493/20 ).* At the beginning of 2022, the Regional Court of Munich ruled that the user must pay 100 euros in damages for the unauthorized use of Google Fonts.

Why could fonts pose a risk?

Because when you visit your website, Google Fonts (fonts) are loaded via a server in the USA (google-font-Api) and the American company is thereby informed of the IP address of the visitor. This violates the General Data Protection Regulation.

How can you check if your website uses Google Fonts?

First of all, by checking the source code! On Google Chrome, you can check it like this:

  1. Open the developer tools (F12)
  2. Select the “Network” tab at the top
  3. Click on “Font” in the filters area
  4. Refresh the website (F5)
  5. If downloaded fonts appear in the list, click one at a time and check the request URL.
  6. If at one of the loaded fonts the request URL is a foreign one (e.g. https://fonts.gstatic.com/… ) you can be sure that you are also affected.

If you don’t know how to do this, contact the company that created your website or contact us! We will be happy to help you avoid unnecessary fines. You can also run your URLs through so-called “Font Checker” systems.