Introduction: Adapting to Evolving Privacy Laws with Google’s User Consent Policy In response to evolving privacy laws in the European Union (EU), Google has announced significant changes to its EU User Consent Policy (EU UCP). These modifications aim to assist advertisers in preserving campaign performance for ads displayed to consumers in the European Economic Area (EEA). Advertisers are now required to transmit verifiable consent signals to Google.
Since its inception in 2015, Google’s EU UCP has served as a response to the requirements of European privacy regulations, specifically the ePrivacy Directive (ePD) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This policy, effective this year, mandates marketers advertising on Google to obtain and respect user consent.
Optimizing Data Collection: What Advertisers Should Do To comply with the new privacy policies, web and app advertisers must send verifiable consent signals to Google to ensure the smooth operation of their advertising campaigns. Loading the tag without cookies through Google’s consent mode may result in data loss, albeit less than before. Once the user accepts, the normal tag with its cookies can be loaded.
By implementing this system, Google Analytics can infer some user data that hasn’t been collected, modeling information it can access through its algorithms.
To facilitate these adjustments, Google has updated the Consent Mode API, introducing two new parameters that provide additional control over consent collection.
If you use Google’s APIs/SDKs to share audience data with Google, you need to update to the latest Google Ads API and Display & Video 360 API. For applications, updating to the latest version of Google’s Conversion Tracking SDK or App Tracking API is necessary. This ensures proper communication of consent signals and compliance with user choices.
The Crucial Role of Consent Management Platforms (CMPs) Google has long been in collaboration with Consent Management Platforms (CMPs), integrated with Consent Mode and Google Tag Manager, making these changes easier to implement. Therefore, working with a Google CMP is the simplest way to implement consent mode, as they dynamically stay up-to-date with changes. If you use an associated CMP, the API updates automatically, and there’s an option to enable consent mode for Google Ads, GMP, and/or Google Analytics.
CMPs help manage cookie consent banners and guide the consent management process starting when a user visits your website and selects their consent in a CMP banner. The CMP then communicates that choice to the Google tag via consent mode, and the tag adjusts its behavior accordingly.
If you are not associated with a CMP, you’ll need to code the implementation of consent mode yourself.
Understanding Google’s Consent Mode Google’s Consent Mode was developed in response to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and uses Google Tag Manager (GTM) to comply with privacy laws. It allows certain tags, such as Google Analytics and Google Ads, to collect data from users browsing websites. In simple terms, consent mode controls the operation of Google tags on a website based on user consent. This pertains to whether users agree or disagree with the use of cookies by Google Analytics, Google Ads, and Floodlight.
When a user gives consent, Google tags adjust to use cookies only for specific purposes. For example, if a user does not consent to ad storage or analysis, Google tags will adapt their behavior accordingly.
Google’s announcement comes at a crucial moment as the second half of 2024 marks the planned deactivation of third-party cookies on Chrome. These regulatory and privacy changes demand that advertisers adapt and take proactive measures. Consent mode emerges as a fundamental tool for marketers to prepare with a solid foundation of lasting solutions driven by consented first-party data and Google’s artificial intelligence.
