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Other tracking from Google

Google Tag Manager and website tracking lawsuits

Google Tag Manager is a container that loads other tracking tags on your site, so it is usually the place where the real trackers are switched on.

Free, about a minute, no signup for your score.

What Suitcast knows about Google Tag Manager

Medium risk

Type
Other tracking
Complaints naming it, 12 months
2

Requests the scanner matches to it

  • www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js
  • www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html

The short answer

Google Tag Manager is a tracking script from Google. Suitcast rates its risk under the California Invasion of Privacy Act, CIPA, as medium, because complaints describe scripts like it recording visitors before they consent. It is named in 2 verified complaints in the last 12 months. The fix is to load it only after a visitor accepts, or to remove it when it is not used.

Why complaints name it

Complaints name it because it fires those tags the moment a page opens, before any banner is answered.

The act allows $5,000 per violation, which is why firms look for scripts that run the moment a page opens.

The fix

How to stop Google Tag Manager firing before consent

Written for the person who runs the site, with the setting to change.

  1. Open the container, turn on consent mode in the container settings, and give each tag a consent requirement (analytics_storage for analytics tags, ad_storage for ad pixels).

  2. Also delete tags for services you no longer use.

How the scan checks this

  1. Loads your pages like a first visit. A real browser, nothing clicked, nothing accepted.
  2. Checks every request before the banner is answered. A request to www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js is matched to Google Tag Manager and recorded with the millisecond it fired.
  3. Clicks reject and watches again. When the banner has a reject button, the scan presses it; if Google Tag Manager keeps firing, the report says so.

Scanner rules and limits are on the methodology page.

Trend

Complaints naming Google Tag Manager, month by month

Verified tracking complaints whose text names this script, by the month they were filed.

Website accessibility (ADA) Website tracking (CIPA)

October 2025 to September 2026, current month to date

Court records

Latest verified complaints naming Google Tag Manager

Newest first. Every row links to the court record.
  1. Tracking

    Edward Lominchar v. TikTok USDS Joint Venture, LLC

    C.D. California. Attributed to California

    Court recordfor Edward Lominchar v. TikTok USDS Joint Venture, LLC (opens in a new tab)
  2. Tracking

    Maurer v. Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P.

    E.D. Missouri, filed by Schubert and Jonckheer LLP. Attributed to Missouri

    Court recordfor Maurer v. Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. (opens in a new tab)

Same type

Other tracking scripts the scanner checks

Scripts of the same kind carry the same pattern in complaints, and the same fix.

Questions owners ask

Whether Google Tag Manager is a problem, how to check your site, and where the counts come from.
Is having Google Tag Manager on my site illegal?
No. The complaints do not claim the script is illegal; they claim it recorded a visitor before the visitor consented, or kept recording after the visitor declined. Loading Google Tag Manager only after consent, or removing it when it is not used, is what removes the pattern the complaints describe.
How do I know if Google Tag Manager fires before consent on my site?
Run the free scan. It loads your pages without clicking anything and checks every request that leaves the browser against its tracker catalog, recording the millisecond each match fired. If Google Tag Manager appears, it fired before consent. When your banner has a reject button, the scan clicks it and reports whether the script kept firing.
Where do the case counts on this page come from?
From the complaint text of verified California Invasion of Privacy Act filings. When a complaint names this script, the case is linked to it. Complaints that are not yet available in the public record are not counted, so the number is a floor.

Keep going

Does Google Tag Manager fire before consent on your site?

The free scan checks every request your pages make before the banner is answered, shows the millisecond Google Tag Manager fired, and whether it kept firing after reject.

Free, about a minute, no signup for your score.

Suitcast identifies risk indicators. It is not legal advice and does not determine compliance.