Google and the Digital Markets Act: Implementing consent parameters

The March 20, 2024 enforcement of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is drawing closer, and Google has provided requirements as per its interpretation of the legislation. Starting from March 6, Google will require clients to obtain user consent to share data for retargeting, personalized advertising, and their own attribution—for both Google Ads and Google Marketing Platform. This applies to any users residing in the European Economic Area (EEA).

To comply with these requirements, Google is urging clients to integrate consent management dialogues into their mobile apps, ensuring that all data sent to them meets the new standards. For Adjust clients, this means implementing new consent parameters for any Google campaigns, which we’re fully equipped to receive, store, and forward on your behalf, making the process of aligning your campaigns with these requirements easy.

Google’s consent parameters are aimed at prioritizing compliance with the DMA. This act is one of the two new pieces of EU legislation surrounding the digital industry, and aims to reduce the power of major players or “gatekeepers” by applying certain regulations to their business practices. One of the limitations of the legislation is that these businesses cannot track users outside of their own core platforms.

So, starting March 6, apps running campaigns on Google properties will need to provide consent data to Google that ensures any user located in the EEA has consented to sharing their data. This information is to be relayed via four consent parameters that inform Google, if:

• The user is located in the EEA.
• The user has consented to being served personalized ads via Google Ads after installing the app, i.e. whether Google can retarget them.
• The user has consented to being served personalized ads via Google Marketing Platform after installing the app, i.e. whether Google can retarget them.
• The user has granted content to personal data being shared for measurement purposes.

Adjust is fully prepared to facilitate the transmitting of these consent parameters to Google on behalf of clients. The process for implementing and sending these parameters via Adjust is straightforward is detailed on the Google compliancy with the DMA article on our Help Center. As soon as clients start sending us values for the parameters, we can append them to our requests to the attribution APIs for Google Ads and Google Marketing Platform. Simple as that.

Adjust is also able to integrate with any consent management platforms (CMPs) clients may be working with. This means if you have a CMP, we're able to receive the consent data from them, but as outlined above, this data can also be sent to us directly. For clients working with a CMP, we highly recommend they are verified by Google.

Through any and all privacy requirements, regulations, and changes, Adjust is always ready to strategically partner with our clients. Our long standing collaboration with Google demonstrates this commitment to staying ahead of industry changes and aiding clients in navigating these evolving requirements.

For more information on the implementation of Google’s consent parameters, questions relating to the DMA, or any concerns regarding privacy, get in touch with your contact person today or request a demo.