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[WordPress Plugin by Ympker] Host Fontawesome fonts locally to better comply with GDPR
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[WordPress Plugin by Ympker] Host Fontawesome fonts locally to better comply with GDPR

YmpkerYmpker Member
edited February 2022 in General

Hello everyone,
I created this mini-plugin over the weekend as I needed a solution for my clients after a german court recently ruled the use of Google Fonts (if not self-hosted) to be violating GDPR. It is safe to assume similar sentences would be applied to embedding Fontawesome via CDN (no legal advice).

So far it contains only the most recent version of Fontawesome fonts (v6.0.0). This, however, should be sufficient, as a client's site that was still on v5.x.x still worked so it appears to be backwards-compatible.
Moving forward, I will likely add a new plugin/folder in the Github repository when v7.x.x is released, or when an upgrade makes sense.

This has been tested with WordPress 5.9 (today). USE AT OWN RISK!

Github Link: Click

For those too lazy, there is a pre-compiled ZIP of the plugin:
For Version 6.0.0: https://k00.fr/8lc8mebm | password: 461827

How to use:

1. Clone the repository and .zip the folder corresponding to the version of FontAwesome Fonts you want (e.g. fa-v600-local stands for version 6.0.0.).

2. Upload Plugin to WordPress.

3. Activate Plugin

4. Use according to the FontAwesome syntax that applies to your version (e.g. for v 6.0.0: https://fontawesome.com/v6/docs).

If you run into any errors pm me or open an issue at Github :)
Enjoy!

If you are bored: Care to test if it works for you guys, too? ( @vyas11 1 @bikegremlin ) :-)

Comments

  • raindog308raindog308 Administrator, Veteran

    Why does Europe care where my freakin' fonts are hosted?

    Are you saying that if I source them from Google Fonts over their CDN instead of hosting them locally I am privacy-raping some poor Eurosexual person?

  • YmpkerYmpker Member
    edited February 2022

    @raindog308 said:
    Why does Europe care where my freakin' fonts are hosted?

    Are you saying that if I source them from Google Fonts over their CDN instead of hosting them locally I am privacy-raping some poor Eurosexual person?

    Welcome to

    Web Design and creating websites in general was way more fun when I started years ago. I'd just try out the latest trends or whatever seemed interesting. Today I feel, I am half a lawyer lol.

    Thanked by 1BBTN
  • pikepike Veteran
    edited February 2022

    @raindog308 said:
    Why does Europe care where my freakin' fonts are hosted?

    Are you saying that if I source them from Google Fonts over their CDN instead of hosting them locally I am privacy-raping some poor Eurosexual person?

    Yes! In fact many big german websites will not show embedded content such as social media posts and videos until explicitly allowed to by the user. Embedding fonts might not be as obvious but technically and legally is the very same thing.

    In my oppinion that is absolutely justified since loading any resource from a third party allows that third party to gather data and a fingerprint about the client (combination of IP and user-agent) and possibly connect that data to an already existing profile.

  • @pike said:

    @raindog308 said:
    Why does Europe care where my freakin' fonts are hosted?

    Are you saying that if I source them from Google Fonts over their CDN instead of hosting them locally I am privacy-raping some poor Eurosexual person?

    Yes! In fact many big german websites will not show embedded content such as social media posts and videos until explicitly allowed to by the user. Embedding fonts might not be as obvious but technically and legally is the very same thing.

    I also noticed many (gaming-)news sites mow showing a disclaimer and button where usually a video would be embedded. Only after clicking on that button would the visitor see the video (and his IP be transmitted to the third party video hosting service).

    Thanked by 1pike
  • hyperblasthyperblast Member
    edited February 2022

    @raindog308 because EU (not europe) becomes more and more a (socialistic)(*) shithole.

    (*): everything must be regulated and monitored by the state. disgusting!

    Thanked by 1bulbasaur
  • @hyperblast said:
    @raindog308 because EU (not europe) becomes more and more a shithole.

    How is protecting internet users privacy making the union a shithole?

  • @pike said:

    @hyperblast said:
    @raindog308 because EU (not europe) becomes more and more a shithole.

    How is protecting internet users privacy making the union a shithole?

    I mean, Google could probably just add a Google fonts CDN mirrors that are hosted in Europe and there wouldn't be a problem, I guess. Same for Fontawesome and other services. Still, I can see why for many people this is a pita since the world gets more and more connected and esp. with Github, Codepen etc, scripts are pulled from all over the world which I am thankful for. GDPR, while the intention is in theory good, puts lots of pressure on especially small businesses and/or even (private) website from individuals.

  • @Ympker said:

    Wouldn't other services like cloudflare and google analytics also not comply with GDPR according to this logic? This means any kind of cdn services, including any scripts or images not hosted yourself also does not comply with GDPR.

    Thanked by 1pike
  • YmpkerYmpker Member
    edited February 2022

    @NoComment said:

    @Ympker said:

    Wouldn't other services like cloudflare and google analytics also not comply with GDPR according to this logic? This means any kind of cdn services, including any scripts or images not hosted yourself also does not comply with GDPR.

    Yup, GA is deemed illegal in e.g. Austria now. "Google Analytics Now Illegal in Austria; Other EU Member States Expected to Follow"
    https://matomo.org/blog/2022/01/google-analytics-gdpr-violation/

    Then again, I don't know how affected CDN services as such are. Because, while you could argue that you can "easily" host google/fontawesome fonts locally, a CDNs idea is to distribute files fast all over the world. You can't solve this "locally", I guess. I can imagine a trend rising towards privacy-focused and EU based CDN providers (e.g. Bunny and KeyCDN), though.

    This page gives a good overview: https://european-alternatives.eu/categories
    https://european-alternatives.eu/category/cdn-content-delivery-network
    Maybe interesting for you @pike ? :-)

    Thanked by 1pike
  • That’s amazing 👍
    Thank you

    Thanked by 1Ympker
  • Thanks for sharing @Ympker !!

    Thanked by 1Ympker
  • @Jorbox said:
    That’s amazing 👍
    Thank you

    Thank you bro! Hope you are doing fine? ;)

    @tjn said:
    Thanks for sharing @Ympker !!

    Happy to help!

  • @Ympker said:

    @NoComment said:

    @Ympker said:

    Wouldn't other services like cloudflare and google analytics also not comply with GDPR according to this logic? This means any kind of cdn services, including any scripts or images not hosted yourself also does not comply with GDPR.

    Yup, GA is deemed illegal in e.g. Austria now. "Google Analytics Now Illegal in Austria; Other EU Member States Expected to Follow"
    https://matomo.org/blog/2022/01/google-analytics-gdpr-violation/

    Then again, I don't know how affected CDN services as such are. Because, while you could argue that you can "easily" host google/fontawesome fonts locally, a CDNs idea is to distribute files fast all over the world. You can't solve this "locally", I guess. I can imagine a trend rising towards privacy-focused and EU based CDN providers (e.g. Bunny and KeyCDN), though.

    This page gives a good overview: https://european-alternatives.eu/categories
    https://european-alternatives.eu/category/cdn-content-delivery-network
    Maybe interesting for you @pike ? :-)

    And France appears to have done the same

    Thanked by 1Ympker
  • YmpkerYmpker Member
    edited February 2022

    Licensing

    For the sake of licensing, the plugin folder and the plugin PHP file have been renamed to not show any reference to Font Awesome in their title. The Plugin's title has been revised to be "Local Fonts GDPR Helper" and the "fa" was omitted from the plugin PHP file's name.

    Changes/Additions

    Furthermore, I have added more comments to the code and updated the Readme file in order to easily allow others to adapt it to include their custom stylesheet or fonts. The Readme file now also includes to a publicly shared Koofr Folder where I will always upload the "latest.zip" version of the plugin. That way the link always remains the same and just the "latest.zip" will be exchanged whenever a new version gets released. Of course, you can still just clone the repo via Git and DYO :)

    Website
    I will also soon add a page on my website that will be dedicated to this plugin and any further WordPress plugins (like the Bootstrap/TailwindCSS one) I will make.

    Stay tuned for more!

    New Github link to the renamed folder
    The new Github Link can be found here.

    The main repository with all my plugins is this one.

    Thanked by 1scooke
  • kalipuskalipus Member
    edited February 2022

    can you please make a proper documentation and a clear suggestion for different use cases for each plugin, what is the difference between them?

    1. removegooglefonts
    2. local-fontsgdprhelper
    3. fontsgdprhelper-dl

    why not add them to wp repo for correct updates, verification and feedback?

  • @kalipus said:
    can you please make a proper documentation and a clear suggestion for different use cases for each plugin, what is the difference between them?

    1. removegooglefonts
    2. local-fontsgdprhelper
    3. fontsgdprhelper-dl

    why not add them to wp repo for correct updates, verification and feedback?

    Hey there,
    not all plugins in the repo are already "ready" to use. Some are WIP or code-dumps.
    As such, currently the only "ready to use" plugin is 2) local-fontsgdprhelper which is the plugin corresponding to this thread. The plugin already has proper documentation on how to install and use it. Simply download the "latest.zip" (according to readme) and upload&activate it on WordPress.

    Regarding pushing the plugin to the official wp repo, here is my reply from LES:

    This was kind of a quick weekend-fix for my clients and I can totally see why a plugin on the official WP repo would be more "trustworthy" and has other benefits (like more exposure, testing etc).

    This is kind of on the roadmap (after exams terminate; again, this was a quick fix), however, there are also some points I will need to clarify first before I feel comfortable pushing it on WordPress. For one, I will probably contact fontawesome and ask if it is okay to redistribute my plugin on WordPress (since there already is an official fontawesome plugin). Secondly, the fontawesome somehow states that "Font Awesome" name can't be in the plugin's name. This is why it is currently called "Local Font GDPR FA" when installed. I will have to see whether I also should remove the FA. Then again, how would people find it on the wp repo if they search for, say, "Font Awesome local" and it doesn't show up. Well, maybe since I can probably mention fontawesome in the plugin description the search function would find it through there. Reading into and following the wp plugin guidelines is where I don't really see a problem. I'm sure I'll be able to make it work somehow. Any suggestions are welcome since I haven't published a plugin there yet. There seems to be demand for it, though (also posted in a german Divi Theme group and people were happy to have it). So I will try to give this a go once I have a bit more time :D

    [...] Yeah, the legal part is something I will have to figure out before going on WordPress public directory. Probably will message them (Edit: messaged them on Feb 13th; no reply so far). I just adjusted the title to be "Local Fonts GDPR" instead of "Local Fonts GDPR FA" as to not even remotely use Font Awesome in the plugin name. Maybe "Local Fonts GDPR Helper" or smth similar may sound better, though haha. For now, I am glad that it works and that I could push it to my clients' sites so fast :D

    Certainly, there are other ways I could market the product. Then again, I won't have too much time to put into marketing with this not being my "main" focus at work. If it's gonna be on WordPress Repository, I will see what I can do, though. Won't do a heavy marketing campaign, though. Happy if it helps other people but first and foremost it was/is a fix to my problem :D

  • YmpkerYmpker Member
    edited September 2022

    Today, I received an email from someone with some questions about the the plugin. Given that people other than me seem to be using this (even though there are other options like GDPRess), I have now also added "legacy" Fontawesome v4 and Fontawesome v5 plugin :)

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