Google disables conversion tracking for non-compliant EU advertisers

Google has begun disabling personalization, remarketing, and conversion tracking functionality for advertisers who fail to comply with consent mode requirements in European Union markets, marking the most significant enforcement action since the policy's introduction.

The enforcement action took effect on July 21, 2025, according to email notifications sent to affected advertisers. The notification, shared publicly by digital marketing specialist Adriaan Dekker, confirmed that accounts not implementing consent mode version 2 would experience immediate functionality restrictions across EU traffic.

"As of July 21, if you're not using Consent Mode v2, your EU traffic is now running partially blind," Dekker wrote in his LinkedIn post. The enforcement affects core advertising capabilities including conversion measurement, audience building for remarketing campaigns, and personalized advertisement delivery for European users.

Google's notification to non-compliant advertisers stated: "We have reviewed your account and found that the attached site(s)/app(s) do not comply with Google's EU User Consent Policy. Further to our previous correspondence, as a result of this ongoing non-compliance, we will now take action including disabling personalised and non-personalised ads, remarketing and conversion tracking functionality."

The notification provided advertisers with technical support resources, directing them to complete compliance forms or contact euucp-escalations@google.com for assistance. The enforcement represents a significant escalation from previous warning periods, during which Google primarily issued compliance advisories without functional restrictions.

Consent mode version 2 introduces enhanced measurement capabilities designed to function when users decline advertising consent while permitting analytics data collection. The technology enables behavioral modeling to reconstruct conversion patterns using aggregated data from consented users, though with reduced precision compared to individual-level tracking.

Technical implementation requirements vary based on existing website infrastructure. Sites lacking consent management platforms require comprehensive setup including banner deployment, consent mode integration, and ongoing compliance monitoring. Properties with existing consent solutions may need only version upgrades and diagnostic verification.

The enforcement timing follows months of preparation within Google's advertising ecosystem. Tag diagnostics were first introduced globally in August 2024 across Google Tag Manager, Google Ads, and Google Analytics to help advertisers identify implementation issues before enforcement began.

Google's consent management platform received support for consent mode integration in March 2025, enabling consent decisions collected through Google's own consent management platform to be recognized across multiple Google advertising and analytics services. This integration creates a unified privacy framework for publishers using multiple Google products.

The enforcement addresses technical challenges identified since Google's initial EU user consent policy strengthening in March 2024. Enhanced diagnostic tools now provide real-time identification of consent-related issues that could impact measurement accuracy or compliance status across European markets.

Marketing professionals report immediate campaign performance impacts in affected accounts. Conversion tracking losses eliminate the ability to measure return on advertising spend accurately, while remarketing audience restrictions prevent targeting users who previously visited advertiser websites. These limitations affect budget allocation decisions and campaign optimization capabilities.

The enforcement extends beyond Google Ads to encompass Google Marketing Platform products including Campaign Manager 360, Display & Video 360, and Search Ads 360. Cross-platform restrictions ensure consistent compliance enforcement across Google's advertising technology ecosystem.

European data protection authorities have increased scrutiny of automated data collection practices throughout 2025. A German court ruling in May clarified that Google Tag Manager cannot activate automatically before obtaining user consent, establishing legal precedent for consent requirement enforcement.

Consent mode version 2 parameters include ad_storage settings controlling advertising cookie enablement, analytics_storage parameters governing user behavior measurement, ad_user_data signals for measurement consent, and ad_personalization parameters for advertising customization features. These parameters provide granular control over data collection based on user consent choices.

Implementation challenges persist for advertisers managing complex measurement requirements. Google has added diagnostic capabilities directly to Google Analytics consent settings to streamline troubleshooting of consent mode and data collection implementation issues within a single interface.

The enforcement affects advertisers differently based on their European market exposure and existing compliance infrastructure. Accounts with significant EU traffic face substantial measurement gaps, while those with minimal European users experience limited impact. Geographic targeting strategies require adjustment to account for reduced measurement capabilities in affected regions.

Consent management platform partnerships provide implementation pathways for affected advertisers. Google maintains certification programs with platforms including Cookiebot, OneTrust, Osano, and Sourcepoint to facilitate compliant consent collection and mode integration. These partnerships offer technical support for advertisers navigating implementation requirements.

Google Tag Manager introduced consent mode override settings in August 2024 to simplify implementation for websites requiring default consent states set to denied for specific regions. This functionality addresses sequencing challenges in consent mode deployment across different geographic markets.

The enforcement timeline allows limited remediation opportunities for non-compliant accounts. Advertisers implementing consent mode after July 21 can restore full functionality, though historical data gaps persist where tracking was disabled. Recovery requires comprehensive verification of consent signal transmission and diagnostic confirmation of proper implementation.

Behavioral modeling capabilities within consent mode version 2 attempt to reconstruct conversion data for users who decline advertising consent. These modeling techniques use machine learning algorithms trained on consented user data to estimate conversion patterns, though accuracy depends on sample size and user behavior consistency.

Industry observers note the enforcement's broader implications for digital advertising measurement practices. The action demonstrates Google's commitment to privacy regulation compliance while maintaining advertising ecosystem functionality through technical innovation. Similar enforcement patterns may extend to other geographic markets as privacy regulations evolve.

Technical documentation reveals that consent mode operates with 48 to 72-hour detection latency for consent signal updates. This delay affects real-time campaign optimization capabilities and requires adjustment of measurement expectations during initial implementation periods.

Mobile application requirements include specific SDK version compliance for proper consent mode functionality. Android applications must utilize Firebase Android Analytics SDK version 21.5.0 or later, while iOS applications require Firebase Apple SDK version 10.17.0 or later to ensure compatibility with version 2 capabilities.

The enforcement represents the culmination of Google's multi-year transition toward privacy-compliant advertising measurement. Initial consent mode development began in 2020 as a beta feature for European advertisers, evolving through multiple iterations to address regulatory requirements and technical challenges.

Timeline

• 2020: Google launches initial consent mode as beta feature for European advertisers
• December 2023: Google updates consent mode with two new parameters (ad_user_data and ad_personalization)
• January 2024: Google announces consent mode v2 updates with March enforcement deadline
• March 2024: Google strengthens EU user consent policy enforcement
• August 2024: Google Tag Manager introduces consent mode override setting
• August 2024: Tag diagnostics introduced globally across Google Tag Manager, Google Ads, and Google Analytics
• March 2025: Google's consent management platform launches support for consent mode
• May 2025: German court clarifies cookie banner compliance requirements affecting Google Tag Manager deployment
• June 2025: Google strengthens consent monitoring tools with diagnostic integration
• June 2025: Google adds tag diagnostics to Analytics consent settings hub
• July 21, 2025: Google begins disabling personalization, remarketing, and conversion tracking for non-compliant EU advertisers

Key Terms Explained

Consent Mode Version 2: The latest iteration of Google's privacy compliance framework that enables continued advertising measurement when users decline consent for advertising cookies. This enhanced version introduced behavioral modeling capabilities and two additional parameters (ad_user_data and ad_personalization) to provide more granular control over data collection based on user consent choices.

EU User Consent Policy: Google's regulatory compliance framework that mandates explicit user consent for personal data collection and processing within European markets. The policy requires advertisers to implement compliant consent collection mechanisms before accessing Google's advertising and measurement services for European traffic.

Conversion Tracking: The measurement system that attributes user actions (purchases, sign-ups, downloads) to specific advertising campaigns and keywords. Google's enforcement action disables this functionality for non-compliant accounts, eliminating advertisers' ability to measure return on investment and optimize campaign performance based on actual business outcomes.

Remarketing: The advertising technique that targets users who previously visited an advertiser's website with customized advertisements across Google's network. This capability requires audience data collection, which becomes restricted under the enforcement action for advertisers without proper consent implementation.

Behavioral Modeling: The machine learning approach used in consent mode v2 to estimate conversion patterns for users who decline advertising consent. These algorithms analyze data from consented users to reconstruct aggregate conversion estimates, though with reduced precision compared to individual-level tracking methods.

Google Tag Manager: The tag management system that allows marketers to deploy and manage website tracking codes without direct code modifications. Recent court rulings have established that Tag Manager cannot activate automatically before obtaining user consent, requiring careful implementation sequencing for compliance.

Diagnostic Tools: The monitoring systems integrated across Google's advertising platforms to identify consent implementation issues and tag configuration problems. These tools provide real-time detection of compliance failures and technical guidance for resolving measurement gaps before they impact campaign performance.

Personalization: The process of customizing advertisement content and targeting based on individual user data and behavior patterns. Google's enforcement action restricts this capability for non-compliant accounts, limiting advertisers to broader demographic targeting without individual user insights.

Compliance: The state of meeting regulatory requirements for data collection and processing under European privacy laws. Achieving compliance requires implementing approved consent management platforms, proper consent mode configuration, and ongoing monitoring of consent signal transmission across all tracking implementations.

European Economic Area: The geographic region encompassing European Union member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway where enhanced privacy regulations apply. Google's enforcement action specifically targets traffic from these regions, requiring consent mode implementation for any advertising activity involving EEA users.

Summary

Who: Google has taken enforcement action against advertisers and website operators who have not implemented consent mode version 2 compliance measures for European Union traffic.

What: Google disabled personalization features, remarketing capabilities, and conversion tracking functionality for accounts that do not comply with EU user consent policy requirements, specifically those not implementing consent mode v2.

When: The enforcement action took effect on July 21, 2025, as confirmed through email notifications sent to affected advertisers.

Where: The enforcement applies specifically to European Union traffic, including users from the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland under European privacy regulations.

Why: The action ensures compliance with European data protection regulations that require explicit user consent for advertising data collection and processing, following years of policy development and technical implementation support provided to the advertising community.