All you need to know about Google’s Consent Mode Version 2
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As governments across Europe move to protect citizen’s privacy, Big Tech companies are changing their policies and platforms to adapt to these changes.
The latest change comes in the form of Google’s Consent Mode Version 2 (V2).
It is a new function that respects users’ privacy choices while still allowing websites and apps to obtain essential information.
As a result of this, businesses need to integrate Consent Mode V2 into their Google Analytics setup by Wednesday 6th March 2024 if they want to continue collecting vital user data and avoid potentially huge penalties.
Here, we’ll guide you through all you need to know about this latest initiative.
First Off Then, What Is This New Consent Mode?
Consent Mode V2 is a new tracking mechanism, found in Google Analytics, that allows websites and apps that operate in the European Economic Area (EEA) to gather data for essential functions while still respecting the privacy of users and ensuring that their data is handled according to their preferences.
It will allow websites and apps to communicate user consent choices for data and cookie usage, at a far more granular level, to Google tags.
V2 will pass data back to GA4 and Google Ads using data that contains no user information. Instead, it will send aggregated stats based on cumulative website usage.
All of this is to help sites tailor data collecting while balancing compliance with new regulations.
Why Is Google Rolling This Out?
The simple answer is to comply with a new regulation that has been introduced in Europe called the Digital Market Act (DMA).
The DMA is an important piece of legislation that is designed to protect the privacy of citizens in the European Economic Area (EEA).
In the legislation, which comes into effect in March, the EEA has designated ‘gatekeepers’, currently six in total, based on certain criteria. Alphabet, the company that owns Google, are one of these gatekeepers, along with Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company), Meta, and Microsoft.
For your business, failure to comply with the DMA can result in numerous penalties:
- Fines: Up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide annual turnover, 20% for repeat infringements
- Periodic penalty payments: Up to 5% of a company’s average daily turnover.
- Remedies: They can either be behavioural or structural remedies, such as selling parts of the business
OK, So What Do I Need To Do?
If you operate a website that receives traffic from The European Economic Area (EEA) or the UK, you need to implement Google Consent Mode V2 by Wednesday 6th March to avoid future issues with campaign measurement and to ensure you can receive important data.
At Embryo we recommend that you implement V2 as soon as possible.
To integrate V2, you need to use a Google-certified consent management platform (CMP).
On Consent Mode, our Data Analyst Sam Thomas said, “If you’re running ad campaigns, you must work to align your onsite cookies to comply with the new consent mode that Google is rolling out.
“Failure to do so could mean a drastic loss of tracking data which is crucial for campaign performance.
“The changes give users more control over the data they are willing to share with the ad platform”.
What Happens If I Don’t Integrate Before The 6th March Deadline?
There are three dangers to not implementing. They are:
- Loss of data: You may lose access to key ad performance data and personalised ad experiences for users in the EEA.
- Google Ad restrictions: You might encounter limitations in using Google Ads, Floodlight, Display, and other advertising and analytics tools for EEA users.
- Penalties: Failure to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and other privacy regulations could attract severe penalties and fines.
Get In Touch Today
To find out more about future updates about the marketing industry such as Consent Mode V2, feel free to get in touch.
