Do I need cookie consent for US visitors?
The US does not work like the EU. There is no federal law requiring an opt-in cookie banner, and the state laws that exist are opt-out: you can track by default, but you must let people opt out of their data being sold or shared.
Opt-out, not opt-in
Where the EU and UK require consent before setting non-essential cookies, US state laws like California's CCPA/CPRA take the opposite approach. You can run analytics and marketing by default, but you must offer a clear way to opt out, usually a "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link, and honour the browser Global Privacy Control signal.
What you actually need
- A "Do Not Sell or Share" opt-out mechanism for applicable states.
- A privacy policy describing what you collect and how to opt out.
- Respect for the Global Privacy Control signal as a valid opt-out.
Thresholds vary: not every small business is caught by every state law, but the big ones (California, and a growing list of others) catch a lot of sites with US customers.
Serving both the EU and US
Most businesses run one setup that detects region: an opt-in banner for EU and UK visitors, and an opt-out link for US ones. Consent Mode and a geo-aware consent tool make that manageable without maintaining two sites. Trying to force the EU opt-in model on everyone just costs you US data you are allowed to collect.
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