This document will provide background around Google joining the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework. You can learn more about setting up your Quantcast Choice CMP in our User Guide.
Google has started to release their requirements on the adoption of the IAB’s latest Transparency and Consent Framework, TCF v2.0. For more information on the IAB TCF, please see our User Guide. Quantcast is committed to simplifying consent management and privacy preference management. In this article, we aim to help you meet Google’s requirements by easily breaking down the when, what, who, and how.
1. Key Requirements about Purposes and Features
2. Scope of Legal Basis
3. Invalid TC String
4. Criteria for Personalized Ads
5. Criteria for Non-Personalized Ads
6. Additional Consent Requirements
When
Google became an IAB-registered vendor on July 24, 2020, meaning you can now find Google on IAB Europe's Global Vendor List (GVL). Google also announced that they’ll be fully operational on August 15, 2020.
What
Google has released information on required consents and ad personalization. To make you Google ready, and to help you navigate the various consent criteria options, we have narrowed this down below to an easy to follow checklist.
1. Key Requirements about Purposes and Features
- Google Requires Consent for Purpose 1
Google states that “If consent is missing for Google for Purpose 1 in the TC string, Google will drop the ad request and no ads will be served.” Purpose 1 refers to the storage and/or access of information on a device.
- For Bidding, Google Needs Consent For Purpose 3 and 4
For Real-Time Bidding (RTB) & Open Bidding, users must have given Google consent for Purpose 1, Purpose 3, and Purpose 4. For reference, Purpose 3 is “Create a personalized ads profile,” and Purpose 4 is “Select personalized ads.”
- Global Scope and Out of Band Vendors Are Not Allowed
Google policies require that publishers use either (a) service-specific scope or (b) group-specific scope. Google does not support Global scope or Out-of-band.
- Active Fingerprinting is Not Allowed
Google will not work with vendors who register for Special Feature 2 and have an opt in for it. Special Feature 2 refers to actively scanning device characteristics for identification.
Read more about Google's policy on TCF here: Publisher integration with the IAB TCF v2.0, Google Requirements for Third Party Ad Serving. Learn more about IAB TCF policy here: IAB TCF v2.0 policies.
2. Scope of Legal Basis
The IAB TCF v2.0 provides consent options for publishers to choose from regarding the legal scope for the processing of personal data. This Legal Basis information is passed using the TC string. Google policies require that publishers use either (a) service-specific scope or (b) group-specific scope, and Google does not support Global scope or Out-of-band. Additional policy information: Google EU user consent policy Publisher integration with the IAB TCF v2.0
Note: Quantcast Choice does not support Global scope or Out-of-band.
3. Invalid TC String
If you have an invalid TC string which is not parseable (for example some fields are missing), there are both short-term and long-term ramifications.
During the transition period that starts when Google begins reading and passing the TC string for all ad requests, Google will serve non-personalized ads to allow publishers to make adjustments.
After the grace transition period (ends on Nov 13, 2020), Google will not serve an ad if the TC string is invalid.
4. Criteria for Personalized Ads
Google will serve personalized ads when all of the following criteria are met:
-
The end user grants Google consent to:
- Store and/or access information on a device (Purpose 1)
- Create a personalized ads profile (Purpose 3)
- Select personalized ads (Purpose 4)
-
Legitimate interest is established for Google to:
- Select basic ads (Purpose 2)
- Measure ad performance (Purpose 7)
- Apply market research to generate audience insights (Purpose 9)
- Develop and improve products (Purpose 10)
Note: Quantcast Choice’s default settings will support this out of the box.
5. Criteria for Non-Personalized Ads
If the consent requirements for personalized ads are not met, Google will serve non-personalized ads when all of the following criteria are met:
-
The end user grants Google consent to:
- Store and/or access information on a device (Purpose 1)
-
Legitimate interest (or consent, where a publisher configures their CMP to request it) is established for Google to:
- Select basic ads (Purpose 2)
- Measure ad performance (Purpose 7)
- Apply market research to generate audience insights (Purpose 9)
- Develop and improve products (Purpose 10)”
6. Additional Consent Requirements
You need to meet Google’s additional consent requirements to support consent for Google’s additional vendors, and use Google Ads products, e.g. Google Tag Manager, Ad Exchange, Ad Manager, AdSense, AdMob, etc.
Note: Quantcast Choice will support all these requirements out of box after Google’s full operation on TCF v2.
Who
Key to this changeover is plugging in your third party vendors and tools.
Ad tech partners and non-IAB vendors
Note that Google’s EU User Consent Policy requires that each vendor or party with whom you are sharing data is clearly identified. This not only includes custom ad partners, but also the commonly used ad technology providers. You can see these controls and list in your Ad Manager, AdSense, or AdMob account. Google has also helpfully provided a list of commonly used providers for your reference here.
ATP Personalization
Until Google’s IAB integration is complete, Google will return personalized ads for the Ad Technology Providers selected in the publisher ATP (Ad Technology Providers) controls. Publishers will continue to have the option to include the non-personalized ad signal in their ad request or choose to serve only non-personalized ads to all users in the EEA in the Ad Manager UI.
How
To get started, a publisher must implement a TCF v2.0 registered CMP, like Quantcast Choice, on their sites to integrate with the IAB TCF v2.0. Quantcast Choice will create and send the Transparency & Consent string, which Google’s ad tags and Software Development Kits (SDKs) will consume.
Quantcast Choice makes this easy for you - our default settings include Google as an IAB vendor since Google registered on IAB Global Vendor List (GVL). If you use a customised vendor list instead of the default setting, please check the list to make sure Google’s included. You can learn more about setting up a customised vendor list in our User Guide. We’ll automatically release features to support Google’s requirements on TCF and provide detailed Google integration guides when we get more clarity after Google fully operates on TCF v2.0.
In order to continue using this free tool with the suite of Google products, you will need to meet Google’s additional consent requirements. Quantcast Choice will support all these requirements out of box after Google’s full operation on TCF v2.
Once you meet Google’s additional requirements, you’ll be able to support consent for Google’s additional vendors, and use Google Ads products, e.g. Google Tag Manager, Ad Exchange, Ad Manager, AdSense, AdMob, etc.
Next Steps
If you haven’t installed Quantcast Choice on TCF v2.0 yet, the first step is to transition to it now. Then we recommend following up with these other helpful TCF V2 implementation guides:
TCFv2 Google Tag Manager (GTM) Implementation Guide
TCFv2 GTM Implementation Guide - Variables
TCFv2 GTM Implementation Guide - IAB Vendor Tag Blocking
TCFv2 GTM Implementation Guide - Finding your UTID
We know that being ready for TCF 2.0 and meeting Google’s additional requirements can be challenging and we are ready to be your guide. We’ll provide out of box support to Google and share Google integration guides with you after Google joins TCF v2.0. Stay tuned.