GA4 gives you the tools to become GDPR compliant, but it doesn't make you compliant by default. The European Data Protection Board and several EU privacy regulators have ruled that standard Google Analytics setups violate GDPR because they transfer personal data to US servers without adequate safeguards. You need to take specific steps to address this. First, you must obtain explicit, informed consent before GA4 fires. Pre-ticked boxes don't count under GDPR. Use a compliant consent management platform that blocks GA4 until the user actively opts in. Second, sign Google's Data Processing Agreement through your Analytics account settings. This is legally required under Article 28 of GDPR. Third, enable IP anonymization and adjust your data retention settings to the minimum necessary period, typically 2 or 14 months depending on your business needs. The bigger issue is transatlantic data transfers. Even with these configurations, GA4 sends data to Google's US infrastructure, which the EU considers problematic after the Schrems II ruling invalidated Privacy Shield. Some EU privacy authorities, including Austria's and France's, have explicitly said this makes GA4 non-compliant. Your options are to use Google's EU-based data storage if available for your property, switch to a privacy-focused alternative like Matomo or Plausible hosted in the EU, or accept the residual legal risk. At Ottawa SEO, we configure GA4 with consent mode, signed DPAs, and conservative retention for Canadian clients serving EU visitors. For clients heavily exposed to EU enforcement, we recommend running a privacy-first analytics tool alongside or instead of GA4. Canadian privacy law under PIPEDA is less strict than GDPR but moving in a similar direction with Bill C-27, so the same cautious approach makes sense domestically. Bottom line: GA4 can be configured toward GDPR compliance, but you can't just install the tag and call it compliant. The transatlantic transfer issue remains a gray area that only your risk tolerance and legal counsel can fully resolve.