Google Ads Consent Requirements for European Publishers
Since January 2024, Google requires all publishers serving ads to users in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, and Switzerland to use a Google-certified consent management platform (CMP) that implements the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) v2.3. This applies to Google Ads, AdSense, Ad Manager, AdMob, and Display & Video 360.
Publishers who do not meet these requirements will see personalised advertising disabled for their EEA traffic. Google will only serve limited, non-personalised ads, which typically generate 50-70% less revenue than personalised ads.
What Google Requires
Google's consent requirements have three components:
- A Google-certified CMP listed on Google's CMP Partner Program page. The CMP must implement IAB TCF v2.3 and pass Google's technical validation.
- Google Consent Mode v2 must be implemented. This requires setting consent defaults before any Google tag fires, using the
gtag('consent', 'default', {...})API. - IAB TCF v2.3 consent strings must be generated and made available via the standard
__tcfapi()JavaScript API. Google's ad tags read the TC String to determine which ad processing is permitted.
How It Affects Ad Revenue
The impact depends on your traffic mix and consent rates:
| Scenario | Ad Type Served | Typical Revenue Impact |
|---|---|---|
| User consents to all purposes | Full personalised ads | No impact |
| User consents to some purposes | Partially personalised ads | 10-30% lower CPMs |
| User rejects all purposes | Non-personalised ads only | 50-70% lower CPMs |
| No CMP / no TCF | Non-personalised ads only (forced by Google) | 50-70% lower CPMs for all EEA traffic |
The critical point: without a TCF-compliant CMP, Google applies the worst-case scenario to all your EEA traffic, regardless of whether individual users would have consented.
Google Ads Products Affected
The consent requirement applies to all Google advertising products:
- Google AdSense: Display ads on your website. Requires TCF for personalised ad serving.
- Google Ad Manager: Publisher ad server. Requires TCF for programmatic demand.
- Google Ads (Search/Display/Video): Advertiser-side. Requires Consent Mode v2 for conversion measurement in the EEA.
- Google AdMob: Mobile app advertising. Same TCF requirements as web.
- Display & Video 360 (DV360): Programmatic buying. Requires TCF consent strings from the sell-side.
- Google Shopping: Product listing ads. Requires Consent Mode v2 for conversion tracking.
Header Bidding and Prebid.js
If you use header bidding (prebid.js or similar), the TCF consent string is essential. Prebid.js automatically calls the __tcfapi() function to retrieve the TC String before sending bid requests to demand partners. Without a valid TC String, most SSPs and DSPs will not bid on your inventory for EEA users.
The CMP must be fully loaded and the consent string available before prebid.js initiates the auction. This is another reason why the CMP must load synchronously as the first script on the page.
Implementation with Passiro
Passiro includes both IAB TCF v2.3 and Google Consent Mode v2 in its free consent widget. The implementation requires two code snippets in your page's <head> section:
- The Consent Mode v2 defaults, which set all consent signals to "denied" before any Google tag fires.
- The Passiro consent widget script, which handles the consent banner, TC String generation,
__tcfapi()API, cross-frame messaging, and automatic script blocking.
When a user grants consent, Passiro updates both the Consent Mode signals (so Google tags switch from cookieless to full measurement) and the TC String (so all TCF-participating vendors in the ad stack receive the consent signal).
Most competing CMPs charge EUR 10-50 per month for TCF support. Passiro includes full TCF v2.3 and Google Consent Mode v2 at no cost.
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