Google is now requiring that publishers that carry its ads comply with a European Union directive and ask their site visitors’ for permission before setting cookies on their computers.

Google spelled out the requirement in its new EU User Consent Policy for publishers that participate in services including AdSense, DoubleClick Ad Exchange and DoubleClick for Publishers.

“If your websites are getting visitors from any of the countries in the European Union, you must comply with the EU user consent policy. We recommend you start working on a policy-compliant user consent mechanism today,” said Jason Woloz, Google’s security and privacy program manager for display and video ads, in a blog post

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