diff --git a/src/internal_events/throttle.rs b/src/internal_events/throttle.rs
index 08321d194588f..8d5484e75352a 100644
--- a/src/internal_events/throttle.rs
+++ b/src/internal_events/throttle.rs
@@ -4,27 +4,30 @@ use vector_lib::internal_event::{ComponentEventsDropped, InternalEvent, INTENTIO
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub(crate) struct ThrottleEventDiscarded {
     pub key: String,
+    pub emit_events_discarded_per_key: bool,
 }
 
 impl InternalEvent for ThrottleEventDiscarded {
     fn emit(self) {
-        // TODO: Technically, the Component Specification states that the discarded events metric
-        // must _only_ have the `intentional` tag, in addition to the core tags like
-        // `component_kind`, etc, and nothing else.
-        //
-        // That doesn't give us the leeway to specify which throttle bucket the events are being
-        // discarded for... but including the key/bucket as a tag does seem useful and so I wonder
-        // if we should change the specification wording? Sort of a similar situation to the
-        // `error_code` tag for the component errors metric, where it's meant to be optional and
-        // only specified when relevant.
-        counter!(
-            "events_discarded_total", 1,
-            "key" => self.key,
-        ); // Deprecated.
+        let message = "Rate limit exceeded.";
+
+        debug!(message, key = self.key, internal_log_rate_limit = true);
+        if self.emit_events_discarded_per_key {
+            // TODO: Technically, the Component Specification states that the discarded events metric
+            // must _only_ have the `intentional` tag, in addition to the core tags like
+            // `component_kind`, etc, and nothing else.
+            //
+            // That doesn't give us the leeway to specify which throttle bucket the events are being
+            // discarded for... but including the key/bucket as a tag does seem useful and so I wonder
+            // if we should change the specification wording? Sort of a similar situation to the
+            // `error_code` tag for the component errors metric, where it's meant to be optional and
+            // only specified when relevant.
+            counter!("events_discarded_total", 1, "key" => self.key); // Deprecated.
+        }
 
         emit!(ComponentEventsDropped::<INTENTIONAL> {
             count: 1,
-            reason: "Rate limit exceeded."
+            reason: message
         })
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/transforms/throttle.rs b/src/transforms/throttle.rs
index 721509f3b4038..496eb1ac9523c 100644
--- a/src/transforms/throttle.rs
+++ b/src/transforms/throttle.rs
@@ -18,6 +18,24 @@ use crate::{
     transforms::{TaskTransform, Transform},
 };
 
+/// Configuration of internal metrics for the Throttle transform.
+#[configurable_component]
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Eq, Default)]
+#[serde(deny_unknown_fields)]
+pub struct ThrottleInternalMetricsConfig {
+    /// Whether or not to emit the `events_discarded_total` internal metric with the `key` tag.
+    ///
+    /// If true, the counter will be incremented for each discarded event, including the key value
+    /// associated with the discarded event. If false, the counter will not be emitted. Instead, the
+    /// number of discarded events can be seen through the `component_discarded_events_total` internal
+    /// metric.
+    ///
+    /// Note that this defaults to false because the `key` tag has potentially unbounded cardinality.
+    /// Only set this to true if you know that the number of unique keys is bounded.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub emit_events_discarded_per_key: bool,
+}
+
 /// Configuration for the `throttle` transform.
 #[serde_as]
 #[configurable_component(transform("throttle", "Rate limit logs passing through a topology."))]
@@ -43,6 +61,10 @@ pub struct ThrottleConfig {
 
     /// A logical condition used to exclude events from sampling.
     exclude: Option<AnyCondition>,
+
+    #[configurable(derived)]
+    #[serde(default)]
+    internal_metrics: ThrottleInternalMetricsConfig,
 }
 
 impl_generate_config_from_default!(ThrottleConfig);
@@ -79,6 +101,7 @@ pub struct Throttle<C: clock::Clock<Instant = I>, I: clock::Reference> {
     key_field: Option<Template>,
     exclude: Option<Condition>,
     clock: C,
+    internal_metrics: ThrottleInternalMetricsConfig,
 }
 
 impl<C, I> Throttle<C, I>
@@ -116,6 +139,7 @@ where
             flush_keys_interval,
             key_field: config.key_field.clone(),
             exclude,
+            internal_metrics: config.internal_metrics.clone(),
         })
     }
 }
@@ -170,11 +194,10 @@ where
                                         Some(event)
                                     }
                                     _ => {
-                                        if let Some(key) = key {
-                                            emit!(ThrottleEventDiscarded{key})
-                                        } else {
-                                            emit!(ThrottleEventDiscarded{key: "None".to_string()})
-                                        }
+                                        emit!(ThrottleEventDiscarded{
+                                            key: key.unwrap_or_else(|| "None".to_string()),
+                                            emit_events_discarded_per_key: self.internal_metrics.emit_events_discarded_per_key
+                                        });
                                         None
                                     }
                                 }
@@ -421,6 +444,7 @@ key_field = "{{ bucket }}"
                 window_secs: Duration::from_secs_f64(1.0),
                 key_field: None,
                 exclude: None,
+                internal_metrics: Default::default(),
             };
             let (tx, rx) = mpsc::channel(1);
             let (topology, mut out) = create_topology(ReceiverStream::new(rx), config).await;
diff --git a/website/content/en/highlights/2023-12-19-0-35-0-upgrade-guide.md b/website/content/en/highlights/2023-12-19-0-35-0-upgrade-guide.md
index 2ec70b3c7e9b1..de977a782030b 100644
--- a/website/content/en/highlights/2023-12-19-0-35-0-upgrade-guide.md
+++ b/website/content/en/highlights/2023-12-19-0-35-0-upgrade-guide.md
@@ -9,7 +9,11 @@ badges:
   type: breaking change
 ---
 
-Vector's 0.35.0 release includes **deprecations**:
+Vector's 0.35.0 release includes **breaking changes**:
+
+1. [The Throttle transform's `events_discarded_total` internal metric is now opt-in](#events-discarded-total-opt-in)
+
+and **deprecations**:
 
 1. [Deprecation of `file` internal metric tag for file-based components](#deprecate-file-tag)
 
@@ -17,6 +21,17 @@ We cover them below to help you upgrade quickly:
 
 ## Upgrade guide
 
+### Breaking Changes
+
+#### The Throttle transform's `events_discarded_total` internal metric is now opt-in {#events-discarded-total-opt-in}
+
+The Throttle transform's `events_discarded_total` internal metric, which includes the `key` tag, is now only emitted on
+an opt-in basis. Users can opt-in to emit this metric by setting `internal_metrics.emit_events_discarded_per_key` to `true`
+in the corresponding Throttle transform component config. This change is motivated by the fact that the `key` metric tag has
+potentially unbounded cardinality.
+
+To view events discarded without the `key` tag, use the `component_discarded_events_total` internal metric.
+
 ### Deprecations
 
 #### Deprecation of `file` internal metric tag for file-based components {#deprecate-file-tag}
diff --git a/website/cue/reference/components/transforms/base/throttle.cue b/website/cue/reference/components/transforms/base/throttle.cue
index 608b43cef1c8c..8da191aeb8f54 100644
--- a/website/cue/reference/components/transforms/base/throttle.cue
+++ b/website/cue/reference/components/transforms/base/throttle.cue
@@ -6,6 +6,25 @@ base: components: transforms: throttle: configuration: {
 		required:    false
 		type: condition: {}
 	}
+	internal_metrics: {
+		description: "Configuration of internal metrics for the Throttle transform."
+		required:    false
+		type: object: options: emit_events_discarded_per_key: {
+			description: """
+				Whether or not to emit the `events_discarded_total` internal metric with the `key` tag.
+
+				If true, the counter will be incremented for each discarded event, including the key value
+				associated with the discarded event. If false, the counter will not be emitted. Instead, the
+				number of discarded events can be seen through the `component_discarded_events_total` internal
+				metric.
+
+				Note that this defaults to false because the `key` tag has potentially unbounded cardinality.
+				Only set this to true if you know that the number of unique keys is bounded.
+				"""
+			required: false
+			type: bool: default: false
+		}
+	}
 	key_field: {
 		description: """
 			The value to group events into separate buckets to be rate limited independently.