What is Global Privacy Control (GPC)?

Global Privacy Control (GPC) is an initiative that aims to create a global technical specification that allows users to control their privacy. It will allow internet users to notify their privacy preferences to all websites without manually having to set their preferences for each website. The GPC is built to inform websites not to sell or share user data, unlike other privacy tools that can limit tracking but might still allow user data to be shared with third parties.

This universal web standard initiative is being spearheaded by a coalition of stakeholders including, web publishers, technology companies, browsers and civil rights organisations. Web publishers like The New York Times, The Washington Post and browsers such as Firefox, Brave and DuckDuckGo support GPC.

The GPC has received a positive response under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which provides Californians with the right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information by websites they visit.