Approaches and Tools for GDPR Compliance Through Google Tag Manager

With aggregate GDPR-related fines totaling € 4.68 billion, it is high time businesses learned and integrated practical approaches and tools for GDPR compliance through Google Tag Manager.

Why GTM?

Google Tag Manager is the most popular tag management tool with an overwhelming market share. 

A silver lining in this situation is that the impact of privacy regulations on advertising and businesses has positive aspects too. 

Sure it has its challenges, but it has also set companies into motion to improve their data privacy measures, resulting in higher user trust.

Let us quickly review GDPR before we move on to the approaches and tools for GDPR compliance.

{{cta(‘168131603346′,’justifycenter’)}}

Get in touch to avail yourself of our Google Tag Manager Consultancy services.

GDPR and Its Implications

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) represents a comprehensive legal framework established by the European Union to protect its citizen’s personal data and privacy. 

GDPR was enforced on May 25, 2018, and it applies to all organizations handling data of EU residents, regardless of the organization’s location. 

GDPR Requirements Overview

GDPR sets stringent requirements aimed at ensuring that organizations handle personal data responsibly. 

Key requirements include:

• Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency: Organizations must process personal data in a manner that is lawful, fair, and transparent to the data subject.
• Purpose Limitation: Data must be collected for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner incompatible with those purposes.
• Data Minimization: Only data necessary for the intended purpose should be collected.
• Accuracy: Personal data must be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.
• Storage Limitation: Data should be kept in a form that permits the identification of data subjects for no longer than necessary.
• Integrity and Confidentiality: Data must be processed in a way that ensures appropriate security, including protection against unauthorized or unlawful processing and accidental loss, destruction, or damage.
• Accountability: Organizations are responsible for, and must be able to demonstrate, compliance with these principles.

Key GDPR Principles Relevant to Data Tracking and Cookies

Digital marketing and analytics took a serious brunt from the data tracking and cookies processing restrictions imposed by GDPR. 

Learn about cookieless marketing for chief marketing officers in this blog. 

Key principles restricting data tracking and cookies include:

• Consent: One of the most critical aspects of GDPR is obtaining explicit consent from users before collecting or processing their data. This consent must be informed, specific, unambiguous, and freely given.
• Transparency: Users must be clearly informed about what data is being collected, for what purposes, and how it will be used.
• Right to Access and Erasure: Users have the right to access their data and request its deletion. This has direct implications for how cookies and tracking data are managed.
• Data Protection by Design and Default: Organizations are required to incorporate data protection measures into their processing activities and business practices from the outset and ensure that, by default, personal data is protected.

The Importance of User Consent and Data Protection

Under GDPR, user consent is not just a formality but a foundational requirement. It empowers users by giving them control over their personal data. 

For businesses, obtaining valid consent involves more than just adding a cookie banner; it requires clear communication, easy-to-use consent management tools, and mechanisms for users to withdraw their consent as easily as given.

Data protection is equally crucial. GDPR mandates robust security measures to protect personal data from breaches and misuse. 

This involves implementing technical and organizational measures such as encryption, regular security assessments, and ensuring third-party processors comply with GDPR standards.

Learn about tracking and analysis using Google Tag Manager for improved ROI in this blog. 

What is Google Tag Manager?

Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a free tool that allows marketers and website owners to manage and deploy marketing tags (snippets of code or tracking pixels) on their websites without needing to modify the code directly. 

GTM simplifies the process of adding, editing, and removing tags, enabling users to efficiently track and analyze metrics such as user behavior, conversions, and more.

GTM operates through a user-friendly web interface where you can create:

• Containers – to hold all your tags, 
• Triggers – conditions that trigger the tags 
• Variables – data points that can be used by tags and triggers

This centralizes tag management and eliminates the need for repetitive code changes on your website.

Benefits of using GTM for managing website tags include:

• Ease of Use: GTM’s intuitive interface allows users to add and update tags without deep technical knowledge. This accessibility empowers marketing teams to implement changes quickly and efficiently.
• Flexibility and Speed: GTM supports various tag types from marketing and analytics platforms, including Google Analytics, Google Ads, and third-party tags. This flexibility accelerates deployment and experimentation with new tools and strategies.
• Version Control and Debugging: GTM includes version control features, allowing users to create, test, and roll back changes easily. The built-in debugging tools help ensure tags are firing correctly before they go live.
• Centralized Tag Management: By consolidating all tags within a single container, GTM simplifies management and maintenance. This centralization reduces the risk of errors and improves site performance.
• Reduced Dependency on Developers: Marketing teams can implement and update tags independently, reducing the dependency on development resources and speeding up the execution of marketing initiatives.

GTM’s Role in GDPR Compliance

Google Tag Manager has a significant role in helping businesses achieve GDPR compliance, particularly in managing user consent and data privacy. 

Here’s how GTM contributes to GDPR compliance:

• Consent Management Integration: GTM can be integrated with Consent Management Platforms (CMPs) to ensure that tags and cookies are only activated after obtaining user consent. This integration helps respect user preferences and compliance with GDPR’s consent requirements.
  • For example, by using GTM in conjunction with a CMP businesses can block tags that deploy cookies until the user consents, thereby adhering to GDPR guidelines.
• Customizable Triggers and Variables: GTM allows the creation of custom triggers and variables that check for user consent before firing tags. This flexibility ensures that data tracking only occurs when it is legally permissible.
• Simplified Compliance Management: GTM’s centralized management and version control capabilities make monitoring and audit tag configurations for compliance purposes easier. Businesses can document changes and demonstrate their adherence to GDPR requirements more effectively.
• Granular Control Over Data Collection: With GTM, businesses can implement precise control over what data is collected and shared with third-party services. This granularity helps align data practices with GDPR’s data minimization and purpose limitation principles.

Learn about the common mistakes in Google Tag Manager Implementation and ways to fix them in this blog. 

Setting Up Google Tag Manager for GDPR Compliance

Ensuring GDPR compliance using Google Tag Manager (GTM) involves a detailed setup process, including integration with Consent Management Platforms (CMPs) to manage user consent effectively. 

This section provides a step-by-step guide to setting up GTM, configuring it to work with CMPs, and integrating CMPs with GTM.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up GTM

Below we share all the steps required to set up a GTM account for your website

1. Create a GTM Account and Container

• Go to the Google Tag Manager website and sign up for an account.
• Enter your company’s name and website URL.
• Create a container for your website and install the GTM code snippet provided by Google on every page on your website.

2. Add Tags

• In your GTM workspace, click “Tags” and then “New”.
• Choose the type of tag you want to add (e.g., Google Analytics, AdWords).
• Fill in the necessary details for the tag, such as tracking ID for Google Analytics 4.

3. Create Triggers

• To access the trigger configuration click “Triggers” and “New”.
• Define when you want your tags to fire, for example, you can set a trigger to fire tags on all pages or specific pages.

4. Publish the Container

• Review your tags, triggers, and variables.
• Click “Submit” to publish your container, making the tags live on your website.

Configure GTM to Work With Consent Management Platforms (CMPs)

Businesses lacking technical expertise or resources to implement GDPR compliance through Google Tag Manager can use CMPs to integrate into their GTM and automate the process.

Below, we share a brief overview of the process for GTM to work with CMPs. 

1. Select a CMP

Select a CMP that integrates well with GTM. Popular options include Iubenda, Secure Privacy, and ConsentManager.net.

2. Implement CMP Script

Insert the CMP script into your website’s header section. This script will manage user consent and display the consent banner to users.

3. Integrate CMP with GTM

• In GTM, create custom variables to capture consent status from the CMP.
• Configure triggers in GTM to fire tags only when the appropriate consent is given. For example, create triggers that check the consent status variable before firing tracking tags.

Blocking Cookies and Tracking Until Consent is Given 

A core tenet of GDPR is the requirement for explicit user consent before collecting or processing users’ personal data. This includes using cookies and tracking technologies that gather data on user behavior. 

Learn about cookieless tracking in GA4 in this blog. 

Blocking cookies and tracking until consent is given is essential for GDPR compliance and user trust.

Why Block Cookies Until Consent is Obtained?

Under GDPR, websites must obtain clear, informed consent from users before deploying cookies that track their personal data. 

This ensures that users have control over their data and understand how it will be used. Deploying cookies without consent can lead to non-compliance with GDPR, resulting in hefty fines and damage to your reputation. 

Blocking cookies until consent is given is a proactive measure to safeguard user privacy and adhere to legal requirements.

Practical Methods and Tools to Block Cookies Using GTM

You can configure Google Tag Manager (GTM) to block cookies until user consent is obtained. 

Here’s how you can do it:

1. Custom HTML Tags for Consent

Use GTM to create custom HTML tags that will manage the consent process. This tag will only fire when consent is granted.

  // Example script to check for consent status

  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];

  window.dataLayer.push({

    ‘event’: ‘consent_status’,

    ‘user_consent’: cmp_consent_status() // This function checks the consent status

  });

</script>

2. Cookie Blocking Triggers

Set Up Triggers: Configure triggers in GTM to ensure that tracking tags (e.g., Google Analytics) only fire after obtaining consent. These triggers will check for the consent status before cookies are allowed.

3. Integration with CMPs

Integrate GTM with a CMP that handles user consent and communicates the status to GTM.

Setting Up Triggers and Variables in GTM to Manage Cookie Consent

You have a tag in GTM. For the consent tag to function you need the right variables and triggers to fire the tag for its correct implementation. 

Here is how you set up triggers and variables in Google Tag Manager:

1. Create a Consent Variable

Custom JavaScript Variable: In GTM, create a custom JavaScript variable that captures the user’s consent status from the CMP. 

This variable will return true or false based on whether consent has been granted.

Go to Variables > New > Variable Configuration > Custom JavaScript and add the following script:

function() {

  return window.dataLayer.find(function(e) {

    return e.event === ‘consent_status’;

  }).user_consent;

}

2. Configure Triggers

Set up a trigger that checks the consent variable before firing any tags. For example, if the consent variable returns true, the trigger will allow the tracking tag to fire.

Conversely, set up a blocking trigger that prevents tags from firing if consent is not granted.

3. Modify Tag Firing Conditions

Adjust the firing conditions of your existing tags to include the consent trigger. This ensures that tags will only execute if the user has provided consent.

Use GTM’s preview mode to test and validate that tags are firing correctly based on the consent status. Make sure no tags are firing before consent is given.

4. Regular Audits and Testing

Periodically audit your GTM setup to ensure all tags are correctly configured to respect user consent. Use GTM’s preview and debug mode to test your setup and verify that tags fire only when appropriate user consent is obtained.

5. Documentation and Record-Keeping

Maintain records of consent obtained from users. Ensure your CMP logs consent details and integrates seamlessly with GTM to facilitate easy access to this information for compliance audits.

Conclusion

This blog discusses Practical Approaches and Tools for GDPR compliance through Google Tag Manager (GTM).

Compliance is necessary for businesses to avoid hefty fines and build user trust. Tools like Google Consent Mode, Consent Manager, and the Pandectes GDPR Compliance Tag Template help manage user consent and control data collection. 

Integrating GTM with Consent Management Platforms (CMPs) such as Consentmanager.net, Iubenda, and Cookiebot ensures that cookies and tracking tags only activate post-consent. 

Using these tools and CMPs, businesses can effectively navigate GDPR requirements, enhancing data privacy practices and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.

Like what you read? Learn more about Digital Analytics on our blog here.