Is a consent management platform mandatory?

A CMP automates this process by offering visitors choices for different cookie categories, storing these preferences, and managing all cookie placement based on these choices. Without a CMP, an organization would have to perform this complex process manually. For small Web sites with only functional cookies, a CMP is not necessary. However, once analytics, marketing or other tracking technologies are used, a CMP becomes practically unavoidable to remain compliant. Fines for noncompliance can be substantial, justifying the investment in a good CMP for most organizations.

In addition to European legislation, Google also has strict requirements on how websites collect consent. With the introduction of Consent Mode v2 in 2024, Google required websites to correctly record and transmit user consent to their platforms such as Google Analytics and Google Ads. This is not only a legal requirement, but also a technical requirement to continue using Google services effectively. Google's Consent Mode v2 ensures that data is only collected when the user gives consent. Without a properly set up CMP that works with Consent Mode v2, you risk not only fines, but also that your marketing tools won't work as well and you may lose advertising revenue because Google Ads performs worse.

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