U.S. Marketers: Make GPC Compliance a Legal Priority

For businesses operating in the United States, navigating the complex web of state privacy laws is now a critical operational necessity. California has taken a leading role, aggressively enforcing its California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and issuing substantial fines for non-compliance. A central element of this enforcement is the Global Privacy Control (GPC), a user signal that must be honored to avoid significant legal and financial repercussions. While its current impact on marketing data collection appears minimal, the legal risks of ignoring GPC are immediate and severe, making it a priority for any organization collecting consumer data.

Global Privacy Control emerged in 2020 from a coalition of privacy advocates, technology firms, and media organizations. Its primary goal was to create a simple, universal mechanism for internet users to opt out of the sale or sharing of their personal information, a functional successor to the largely ignored “Do Not Track” standard. Users can activate GPC through browser extensions or built-in settings in browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Brave. Once enabled, it sends a detectable signal to websites, communicating the user’s privacy preference.

California regulators formally recognized GPC as a valid consumer opt-out request under the CCPA. Enforcement began in earnest with a landmark case against Sephora, resulting in a $1.2 million penalty for failing to respect the signal. Since then, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) has continued its enforcement actions, compelling companies to urgently implement systems that properly detect and respond to GPC.

Ensuring your website honors these signals is paramount, and there are two primary paths to compliance. The first and most straightforward method is through a Consent Management Platform (CMP). Most major CMP providers now include features to automatically detect GPC signals. Once detected, the platform can be configured to block data collection related to sales or sharing, typically via a tag management system. This approach simplifies management and provides valuable traceability records, which are crucial for demonstrating compliance during an audit or investigation.

For organizations not using a CMP or preferring a custom-built solution, a second option exists. A well-known custom method, developed by The Washington Post and Wesleyan University, involves implementing a specific JSON file. While this offers transparency, it can be challenging to deploy across large, complex websites and may lack the built-in audit trails of a dedicated platform. Regardless of the chosen method, rigorous testing is essential to confirm that all data sale and sharing is effectively blocked when the GPC signal is present. Legal teams should be involved to determine if records of these tests need to be retained as evidence of compliance.

From a marketing perspective, the direct impact of GPC has so far been limited. Despite claims of widespread adoption, the actual volume of web traffic carrying the signal remains very low, often indistinguishable from normal traffic fluctuations. Many users do not activate it consistently across all their devices. Consequently, most U.S. marketers have observed no measurable effect on their data collection, a stark contrast to European markets where high cookie rejection rates are common.

However, this minimal marketing impact should not breed complacency. The legal and financial risks are substantial and growing. With multi-million dollar fines already issued, privacy lawsuits are increasing. Legal departments must collaborate closely with marketing and IT teams to ensure all tracking implementations are compliant. This often requires “translators”, team members who can bridge the gap between legal mandates and technical marketing execution. Processes must be established not just for initial compliance but for maintaining it over time as technologies and regulations evolve.

Looking ahead, GPC adoption could accelerate significantly if major browsers like Chrome and Safari integrate the signal natively. Such a development could lead to a meaningful reduction in available marketing data. Businesses must proactively monitor these trends to prepare for potential shifts. For now, the directive is clear: privacy compliance is a permanent fixture of the U.S. business landscape. Organizations must implement GPC respect mechanisms immediately to mitigate legal risk, while continuously balancing compliance obligations with the need for effective marketing performance.

(Source: MarTech)