• by Laurie Sullivan , Yesterday

Microsoft will begin enforcing cookie consent requirements for users accessing websites from several European countries beginning October 31. The move is intended to comply with changes that have already been made or are scheduled to take place.

The Microsoft tool Clarity will begin enforcing consent signal requirements for page visits that originate from the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom (UK), and Switzerland (CH). A valid consent signal is required to ensure all functions of Clarity features for users in these regions.

A valid consent signal for ad targeting is a specific, informed and unambiguous "opt-in" action by a user that is then communicated electronically to advertising platforms.

This signal must clearly indicate the user's permission to access their personal data to personalize ad targeting.

The requirements for a valid signal come from regulations such as Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and various U.S. state privacy laws.

Clarity acknowledges consent for up to 13 months unless users update their preferences or local restrictions require shorter a shorter period of time.

The system processes consent immediately upon receipt, enabling or disabling cookie placement.

When consent is denied, Clarity automatically deletes existing first-party cookies associated with the website. This ensures compliance with user privacy choices and regulatory requirements. Subsequent visits maintain the no-consent state until users explicitly grant permission.

Microsoft writes in a post that "analytics such as page views and basic interactions are still collected, but sessions are fragmented, and certain features such as full session replays and user journey continuity are unavailable."

If cookie consent is not provided, Clarity cannot track a continuous user journey. If a user visits a page and then another during the same visit, Clarity treats these as two separate sessions.

Clarity processes two consent types. Analytics storage consent controls data related to user behavior and website usage patterns. Ad storage consent supports advertising-related data collection for targeted advertisements and campaign measurement.

Website operators must implement consent signals using one of three supported methods.

The primary option must include Google Consent Mode integration. Users also can implement direct integration with CookieYes for native CMP-Clarity functionality, or utilize Clarity's own Consent API. This is according to Microsoft's technical documentation.