Marketing and compliance are now tightly connected. Indiana's privacy law proves it again.
The Privacy Law Marketing Teams Can't Ignore
Indiana's Consumer Data Protection Act went live January 1, 2026. It joins Virginia, Colorado, and Connecticut in creating enforceable consumer data rights that directly impact marketing performance.
For technical marketers and product teams, this law creates a specific challenge: maintaining marketing measurement while respecting user privacy choices.
Why Server-Side Tracking Matters Now
Client-side tracking—JavaScript tags that fire in users' browsers—has been the default for years. Facebook Pixel, Google Analytics, marketing automation tools all rely on it.
But client-side tracking is increasingly fragile:
- Browser privacy features block it
- Ad blockers remove it
- Privacy laws restrict it
- Users can inspect and disable it
Server-side tracking routes data through your own infrastructure before sending it to marketing platforms. This provides several advantages:
Better data quality. Less susceptible to browser blocking and ad blockers.
More control. You decide what gets sent and when, based on consent state.
Improved compliance. Consent checks happen server-side before data reaches third parties.
Reliable measurement. Less vulnerable to client-side interference.
How Indiana's Law Changes the Equation
The CDPA requires explicit opt-in for sensitive data (location, health, financial, biometric, children's data) and gives consumers the right to opt out of targeted advertising and profiling.
For marketing teams, this means:
- Tracking must respect consent state
- Opt-outs must propagate across all systems
- Data collection stops when users withdraw permission
- You need audit trails proving compliance
Server-side architectures make this easier to implement correctly:
Consent enforcement happens before data leaves your control. Instead of hoping third-party scripts respect consent, you check consent server-side before forwarding any data.
Opt-outs propagate reliably. When users opt out, your server stops sending their data to marketing platforms immediately.
Audit logging is built-in. Server-side tracking creates clear logs of what data was sent when, tied to consent state.
Consent Architecture That Actually Works
Most consent implementations fail because they're bolted on after the fact. Marketing tags fire before consent is captured. Opt-outs don't reach all systems. Audit trails are missing.
Better approach: Build consent into your data architecture from the start.
Client-Side Layer
User visits your site or app. Consent management platform (CMP) loads first, before any marketing scripts.
User makes consent choice. Preference is stored locally and sent to your server.
Marketing scripts fire only if consent is granted. No tracking occurs before permission.
Server-Side Layer
Your server receives tracking requests with consent metadata attached.
Before forwarding to Google Analytics, Facebook, or other platforms, server checks: Does this user have active consent?
If yes: Data flows to marketing platforms as normal.
If no: Request is dropped. Nothing sent. Event logged for compliance.
Storage Layer
Consent preferences stored in database tied to user identifier.
Changes to consent (opt-outs, preference updates) trigger updates to all connected systems.
Audit log records every tracking event with timestamp and consent state.
Integration Layer
Marketing platforms receive only consented data.
When users opt out, server stops forwarding their data immediately.
Deletion requests propagate to all systems that received data.
Seers AI automates this consent architecture, handling preference capture, server-side enforcement, and cross-platform propagation without breaking your marketing workflows.
Implementing Server-Side Google Analytics
Example implementation using Google Tag Manager Server-Side:
1. Set up server container
Deploy GTM server container on your infrastructure or cloud provider.
2. Route client requests through your server
Instead of sending hits directly to Google, send them to your server first.
// Client-side
gtag('config', 'GA_MEASUREMENT_ID', {
'server_container_url': 'https://your-server.com'
});
3. Check consent server-side
Before forwarding to Google Analytics:
// Server-side (pseudo-code)
if (userHasConsent(userId)) {
forwardToGoogleAnalytics(eventData);
logAuditEvent('data_sent', userId, timestamp);
} else {
logAuditEvent('data_blocked', userId, timestamp);
}
4. Handle opt-outs
When user opts out, update consent state in database. Server automatically stops forwarding their data.
What This Doesn't Solve
Server-side tracking improves compliance, but it doesn't exempt you from privacy laws.
You still need:
- User consent before collecting data
- Clear privacy notices
- Systems to handle access, deletion, and correction requests
- Data Protection Impact Assessments for high-risk processing
- Processor agreements with third parties
Server-side tracking makes compliance easier to implement correctly. It doesn't make compliance optional.
The Technical Trade-offs
Advantages:
- More reliable data collection
- Better consent enforcement
- Improved security (less exposure of tracking logic)
- Reduced client-side JavaScript
- More control over data flows
Challenges:
- Requires server infrastructure
- Adds latency (data takes extra hop)
- More complex to debug
- Initial setup requires technical expertise
- Need to maintain server-side code
For most marketing teams, the advantages outweigh the challenges—especially when privacy compliance is mandatory.
Data Minimization by Design
Privacy laws push toward data minimization: collect only what you need, keep it only as long as necessary.
Server-side architectures make this easier:
Filter data before sending. Remove personally identifiable information before forwarding to analytics platforms.
Aggregate on your side. Send summary statistics instead of raw events where possible.
Set retention policies. Automatically delete old data based on configured rules.
Respect purpose limits. Only forward data to platforms that match the user's consent scope.
Building for the Next Privacy Law
Indiana's CDPA won't be the last privacy regulation marketers face. More states will pass similar laws. Eventually, federal legislation will unify them.
The technical architecture you build now should work for future regulations, not just current ones.
That means:
- Consent management that's flexible enough to handle new requirements
- Server-side enforcement that can implement different rule sets
- Audit logging that proves compliance regardless of which law applies
- Data flows that respect the strictest privacy standard by default
Practical Implementation Steps
Week 1: Audit Current Setup
- Map all client-side tracking scripts
- Identify what data each one collects
- Document current consent implementation
- List all third-party data recipients
Week 2: Design Server-Side Architecture
- Choose server-side platform (GTM, Segment, custom)
- Plan consent enforcement logic
- Design opt-out propagation workflow
- Set up audit logging infrastructure
Week 3: Implement Core Components
- Deploy server-side container
- Build consent checking middleware
- Configure marketing platform integrations
- Create request handling workflows
Week 4: Test and Validate
- Verify consent enforcement works
- Test opt-out propagation
- Validate data flows to platforms
- Check audit logs are complete
Ongoing: Monitor and Improve
- Track compliance metrics
- Review new tool integrations
- Update as regulations change
- Optimize for performance
The Competitive Angle
Most marketing teams view privacy as a constraint. Technical teams see it as an architecture problem with elegant solutions.
When client-side tracking becomes unreliable and privacy regulations tighten, teams with robust server-side architectures maintain measurement capabilities others lose.
When competitors scramble to retrofit compliance into legacy systems, teams that built for privacy from the start keep shipping.
When the next privacy law passes, teams with flexible consent architectures adapt quickly while others rebuild.
The best marketing teams treat privacy as infrastructure, not paperwork.
Learn more: Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act 2026 - Complete Guide
Automate consent infrastructure: Seers AI
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