DMA
Digital Markets Act
The Digital Markets Act regulates the large platforms. What matters for your website is the knock-on effect: Google, Meta and Microsoft now require demonstrable consent before they combine data.
DMA at a glance
- In force
- Obligations since 7 March 2024
- Supervision
- European Commission
- Penalty
- Up to 10 % of global turnover, 20 % for repeat breaches
- Model
- Consent for cross-service data use
What is the Digital Markets Act?
The Digital Markets Act designates particularly powerful platforms as "gatekeepers" and prohibits them from certain practices. Currently affected are Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, Microsoft and Booking. Their obligations have applied since 7 March 2024.
The point that matters for websites sits in Article 5: gatekeepers may combine personal data from different services only with explicit consent. Because they cannot obtain that consent themselves, they pass the obligation on contractually to their advertising customers — that is, to you.
Google's consent mode grew out of exactly this. Anyone running ads in the European Economic Area today has to transmit a signal indicating whether consent exists — and use a Google-certified consent platform to do so.
Who does the Digital Markets Act affect?
You run ads in the EEA
Anyone using Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising for audiences in the European Economic Area has to transmit consent signals — otherwise audience lists and measurement data fall away.
You measure reach with Google tools
Analytics use without advertising is covered too, as soon as the data could be used for personalised advertising.
You are a publisher selling ads programmatically
Anyone selling ad space programmatically additionally needs the IAB Europe transparency and consent framework.
What does it mean for a website?
Demonstrable consent
Consent has to exist before data flows to gatekeepers — and be provable if questioned.
A certified consent platform
For advertising products in the European Economic Area, Google only accepts platforms from its own certification list.
Signals rather than silence
A refusal has to be transmitted too. Where no signal arrives at all, Google treats the visit as not covered by consent.
Separate purposes
Ad storage, analytics, user data for advertising and personalisation are four independent signals and have to be set separately.
How does Aiara meet the requirements?
Aiara meets the downstream requirements of the Digital Markets Act in full — including the certifications Google and IAB Europe demand for it.
A Google-certified platform
Aiara has been through Google's certification and is therefore approved for advertising products in the European Economic Area.
Consent Mode V2 without extra work
All four signals are set before Google scripts load — including the default state before any decision. That is the part hand-built solutions usually miss.
Microsoft signals as well
Microsoft's consent mode is served in parallel, so ads and Clarity receive the same decision.
Certified by IAB Europe
For publishers selling ads programmatically, Aiara is registered as a consent platform with identifier 507.
Evidence on demand
The consent record documents the time and scope of every decision — the basis if an advertising partner asks for proof.
Frequently asked questions about DMA
Official sources
This page summarises the legal position in plain language and is no substitute for legal advice.
Related regulations
View all regulationsGoogle Consent Mode V2
Without these signals your campaigns lose their data foundation.
Microsoft Consent Mode
The half almost everyone forgets.
TCF v2.3
The standard without which programmatic advertising in Europe stands still.