Google Consent Mode V2? What Does it Mean? Will It Affect You?

Another day, another deadline. Google sent warnings out this week to all users of their publisher products (AdSense, Ad Manager or AdMob). From the start of March 2024, you might need to implement Google Consent Mode V2.

If you’re serving adverts online to the UK or the European Economic Area (EEA) and wish to measure the success of those adverts, you need to collect user data. If you wish to collect that data you need to comply with the appropriate regulations. In reality, this means the General Data Protection Regulation GDPR. If you want to serve online adverts to the USA, you’ll need to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

To ensure Google meet those directives they will, from March 2024, require all advertisers to implement Google Consent Mode V2. Without this compliance Google cannot, in-turn, assert it is meeting those directives.

Google Consent mode has been around in one form or another since 2000. Consent Mode governs how Google processes user data. Depending on the consent gained, it allows a website to treat certain users’ data anonymously while processing others’ as usual.

It’s more than likely that your site employs Google tags and scripts such as (gtag.js) or Google Tag Manager. These enable applications like Google Analytics and Google Ads to gauge visitor interactions with the site, including the pages they’ve visited and measure key conversions (like checkouts, form submissions, subscriptions and so on).

Google tags (and the analysis of the user behaviours they enable) have been a core component of digital marketing infrastructure for many years. As GDPR and CCPA have come into force, the use of potentially privacy-breaching technologies like third-party cookies has become illegal without prior consent.

If you’re using Google Advertising through mobile apps (AdMob), on Google Search or on Google Adsense it will. The latest messaging suggests that, if not compliant, the adverts you will be able to display will be severely limited. AdSense will not work at all.

If you haven’t already, it’s time to get yourself a CMP.

A CMP is a toolset that helps website owners manage consent for the collection and processing of personal data. At its simplest, it’s a cookie banner.

There are a lot of Cookie Banner solutions out there. The simplest are, for the most part, inadequate for modern internet uses. Annoying as they are, strict cookie compliance now requires popups, detailed information and informed consent.

The European-level association for the digital marketing and advertising ecosystem – the IAB – has developed a Transparency and Consent Framework. If your Cookie Banner solution is not certified and integrated, it won’t be compliant.

If you’re using a new-ish Consent Management Platform (CMP), there’s a good chance you already will be compliant. It’s a quick check but it is essential.

For most frameworks, upgrading to compliant Google Consent Mode V2 cookie consent is a pretty straightforward process. Little Fire Digital can help you work it out. Drop us a line.