diff --git a/CMake/AbseilHelpers.cmake b/CMake/AbseilHelpers.cmake
index e1196fd7..6d402872 100644
--- a/CMake/AbseilHelpers.cmake
+++ b/CMake/AbseilHelpers.cmake
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ else()
   set(ABSL_INTERNAL_INCLUDE_WARNING_GUARD "")
 endif()
 
-function(_target_compile_features_if_available TARGET TYPE FEATURE)
+function(_absl_target_compile_features_if_available TARGET TYPE FEATURE)
   if(FEATURE IN_LIST CMAKE_CXX_COMPILE_FEATURES)
     target_compile_features(${TARGET} ${TYPE} ${FEATURE})
   else()
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@ Cflags: -I\${includedir}${PC_CFLAGS}\n")
       # Abseil libraries require C++14 as the current minimum standard.
       # Top-level application CMake projects should ensure a consistent C++
       # standard for all compiled sources by setting CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD.
-      _target_compile_features_if_available(${_NAME} PUBLIC ${ABSL_INTERNAL_CXX_STD_FEATURE})
+      _absl_target_compile_features_if_available(${_NAME} PUBLIC ${ABSL_INTERNAL_CXX_STD_FEATURE})
     else()
       # Note: This is legacy (before CMake 3.8) behavior. Setting the
       # target-level CXX_STANDARD property to ABSL_CXX_STANDARD (which is
@@ -348,7 +348,7 @@ Cflags: -I\${includedir}${PC_CFLAGS}\n")
       # Abseil libraries require C++14 as the current minimum standard.
       # Top-level application CMake projects should ensure a consistent C++
       # standard for all compiled sources by setting CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD.
-      _target_compile_features_if_available(${_NAME} INTERFACE ${ABSL_INTERNAL_CXX_STD_FEATURE})
+      _absl_target_compile_features_if_available(${_NAME} INTERFACE ${ABSL_INTERNAL_CXX_STD_FEATURE})
 
       # (INTERFACE libraries can't have the CXX_STANDARD property set, so there
       # is no legacy behavior else case).
@@ -460,7 +460,7 @@ function(absl_cc_test)
     # Abseil libraries require C++14 as the current minimum standard.
     # Top-level application CMake projects should ensure a consistent C++
     # standard for all compiled sources by setting CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD.
-    _target_compile_features_if_available(${_NAME} PUBLIC ${ABSL_INTERNAL_CXX_STD_FEATURE})
+    _absl_target_compile_features_if_available(${_NAME} PUBLIC ${ABSL_INTERNAL_CXX_STD_FEATURE})
   else()
     # Note: This is legacy (before CMake 3.8) behavior. Setting the
     # target-level CXX_STANDARD property to ABSL_CXX_STANDARD (which is
@@ -476,11 +476,3 @@ function(absl_cc_test)
 
   add_test(NAME ${_NAME} COMMAND ${_NAME})
 endfunction()
-
-
-function(check_target my_target)
-  if(NOT TARGET ${my_target})
-    message(FATAL_ERROR " ABSL: compiling absl requires a ${my_target} CMake target in your project,
-                   see CMake/README.md for more details")
-  endif(NOT TARGET ${my_target})
-endfunction()
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 3b67d8fe..9e102578 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -140,7 +140,6 @@ set(ABSL_LOCAL_GOOGLETEST_DIR "/usr/src/googletest" CACHE PATH
   )
 
 if((BUILD_TESTING AND ABSL_BUILD_TESTING) OR ABSL_BUILD_TEST_HELPERS)
-  ## check targets
   if (ABSL_USE_EXTERNAL_GOOGLETEST)
     if (ABSL_FIND_GOOGLETEST)
       find_package(GTest REQUIRED)
@@ -172,11 +171,6 @@ if((BUILD_TESTING AND ABSL_BUILD_TESTING) OR ABSL_BUILD_TEST_HELPERS)
     endif()
     include(CMake/Googletest/DownloadGTest.cmake)
   endif()
-
-  check_target(GTest::gtest)
-  check_target(GTest::gtest_main)
-  check_target(GTest::gmock)
-  check_target(GTest::gmock_main)
 endif()
 
 add_subdirectory(absl)