If I was defending them, I'd use an argument along the lines of "trackers don't track people". In other words, "improper" use of the tools is the crime, not the creation of the tools themselves.
Is it actually possible to use it in a not improper way though? That's the issue I think, if Google are going to offer the tool for use in EU, then their tool should not put its customers at legal risk.
The thing about GDPR is, the intention (in most cases) doesn't matter. If Google is using servers outside Europe or using the data for anything not officially disclosed (and disclosures hidden in eulas etc. don't count) then they are in breach of GDPR.
Google is a subcontractor. The owner of the website is using a service to track browser behaviour, and, perhaps erroneously, user identities. The service is famous, but not unique.
What the subcontractor does with the data is the responsibility of the website owner -- if they allow Google to abuse the data owner (that is, misuse the PII of people visiting the website), then the website owner should be held responsible.
> What the subcontractor does with the data is the responsibility of the website owner
That's my issue. Since Google has legal entities in Europe they should be held accountable as well. Right now they are offering and marketing a service which is more or less illegal to use. If it were some company outside Europe, then yes by all means the website owner should make sure the 'subcontractor' is in compliance.
I think you miss the point: Google are the data processor in this case. (In fact, as the body collecting the data, they also have shades of a data controller.) Doesn't matter if they're a subcontractor: they have responsibilities under the GDPR, because they're the ones holding onto that data. It's not like they're holding it in some form, passing it on to the website owner, and obliterating it.
I would recommend searching for the terms "data processor" and "data controller" on the European Commission website. They have very clear explanations of the responsibilities for both.
