Government Regulations Google to use IP addresses for ad measurement and personalization in EEA, UK, and Switzerland June 18, 2026 Share By SC Staff (Adobe Stock) As reported by Bleeping Computer, Google has begun notifying advertisers of a significant change in its data usage policy. Starting on or shortly after August 3, 2026, the company will begin using IP addresses for ad measurement and personalization across the European Economic Area (EEA), the UK, and Switzerland. This new practice marks a shift because IP addresses are considered personal data under GDPR and UK law, requiring user consent for such uses. While Google already receives IP addresses for routing traffic, using them for identification for measurement and ad personalization triggers consent requirements. Google plans to register under the IAB Europe Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) for Feature 3, which identifies devices based on automatically transmitted information like IP addresses. This change comes after Google reversed its previous stance against fingerprinting in December 2024, a move criticized by the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO's recent advice to the UK government suggests that IP-based personalization across services should require user consent. Google is placing the compliance burden on advertisers, reminding them to adhere to its EU User Consent Policy and obtain valid consent from users in the affected regions. Users will eventually have controls over IP-based personalization, but initial options are limited to existing cookie and ad personalization settings. Source: Bleeping Computer SC Staff Related Government Regulations House fails to renew FISA surveillance law amid controversy SC Staff June 12, 2026 The House voted against renewing Section 702 of FISA, a law that allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect vast amounts of information, including data on Americans, to identify foreign threats. AI/ML Trump executive order on AI calls for voluntary 30-day review period Steve Zurier June 3, 2026 Trump AI order proposes a 30-day voluntary review of frontier models before public release. Government Regulations California amendment would exempt Linux from age verification law SC Staff May 27, 2026 The Linux community had raised concerns that the open-source nature of the software, lacking commercial ownership and centralized account infrastructure, would make enforcing such a policy difficult. Get daily email updates SC Media's daily must-read of the most current and pressing daily news Business Email By clicking the Subscribe button below, you agree to SC Media Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . Subscribe Related Terms Business Impact Analysis (BIA) British Standard 7799 Chain of Custody Competitive Intelligence Data Custodian Due Care Due Diligence You can skip this ad in 5 seconds