Data Privacy

2023 is only a week in and antitrust scrutiny is already roiling the American big tech cadre. Important antitrust actions are looming, the line between antitrust regulation and privacy protection continues to blur – and large platforms with their own ad businesses are starting to feel the heat as regulators dig in.

In 2022, top players in digital advertising finally started taking gaming seriously, and the groundwork was laid for programmatic in-game advertising to grow thanks to a long overdue update to the IAB’s and MRC’s in-game ad standards. The scene is also set for in-game advertising to expand into console gaming, and we might even see the debut of the first sell-side platform dedicated to gaming.

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. The One-Stop Shop Shopify is loath to earn ad dollars, but fills a valuable niche as a payment data supplier for Google, Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Pinterest.  Although Google and Meta have their own first-party payment data strategies (see: Facebook and Instagram Shops, […]

Turns out it’s actually better to ask for permission than for forgiveness, at least when it comes to privacy compliance in Europe. Apple and Meta are living proof.

There are three key ways in which the industry can do a better job of selling customers on the value exchange they’ll see from sharing their data with brands, writes Scott McDonald, President and CEO of the Advertising Research Foundation.

From the Federal Trade Commission’s plan to regulate privacy in the absence of a federal privacy law to Apple’s intimations about cracking down on fingerprinting, these are seven stories that sent ripples through the ad tech ecosystem in 2022 – and will keep on rippling in 2023.

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. A Betsy On Etsy Etsy should be in dire straits. In 2020, a quarter of Etsy’s gross merchandise was homemade masks. Pandemic ecommerce numbers deflated, Apple ATT reversed the mobile economy, then the recession hit.  Yet, a dollar on Etsy in December 2019 (just […]

CPRA, BSAA and antitrust: We close out 2022 with (acronyms and) a repeat of a January 2022 episode that took the pulse of the legal world’s latest moves in data privacy. 

Data privacy. Clean rooms. Measurement. Gaming. M&A. Which trends deserved the hype – and which ones didn’t – in 2022? We dig into some of the biggest topics of the year

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Snail Mail Prevails Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency sent advertisers looking beyond Meta and Google for attribution-based advertising. Most of those budgets went to test performance on other digital or social channels, like TikTok or CTV. But some brands are giving more love to good ol’ direct […]

“‘Cookieless’ is just a buzzword,” said Sanup Pillai, DHL’s global head of digital marketing and mar tech tells AdExchanger. “I wouldn’t say we’re getting ready for the ‘cookieless future’ as much as that we’re taking this opportunity to future-proof our technology stack.”

The European Commission just left Meta a lump of coal in its stocking. On Monday, European regulators charged Meta with antitrust violations for “distorting competition in the markets for online classified ads,” including through unfair access to advertising data pulled from its competitors. Specifically, the commission issued what’s known as a “statement of objections,” which […]

In late May 2019 – one year after GDPR went into effect – European identity solutions provider Roq.ad decided to delete all of its data and rebuild its cross-device graph from scratch to make sure it only dealt in consented data as defined by the law.

Although there are important nuances between the different laws, businesses that have been working toward compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act are in a good position for complying with other state privacy statutes. But the CPRA has several unique provisions that make it a beast all its own.

“On TV & Video” is a column exploring opportunities and challenges in advanced TV and video. Today’s column is by Jeff Sue, GM, Americas at Mintegral.  Connected TV (CTV) is rapidly emerging as an enticing channel for advertisers looking to increase their campaign reach and tap into new channels of ad inventory. The mobile ad […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. A New Day, A New Apple Apple engineers are preparing to support third-party app stores on iPhones and iPads, Bloomberg reports.  But this is not a change of heart on Apple’s part. Apple is simply following the law. A new rule in the […]

The most commonly cited rationale for publisher staffing cuts has been marketers’ hesitance to spend on advertising amid persistent economic uncertainty. But publishers’ latest pivot to video and increased competition among digital channels is also likely to blame.

The Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act and efforts to change Google’s and Apple’s mobile advertising practices would force companies to adopt new practices and technologies to understand and act on consumer identity. Mathieu Roche, co-founder and CEO at ID5, dives into each initiative and its implications.

Fingerprinting, an alternative to third-party cookies, uses a constellation of browser signals to identify a person. The browsers don’t like it, but can they actually stamp it out? Plus: Advertising will grow, albeit slowly, in 2023, according to recent ad agency forecasts.

FTC v Kochava is a landmark battle in the long war over data privacy regulations. But regardless of how this particular case turns out, the digital marketing industry needs clearer standards for the collection, exchange and use of consumer data, writes Carolina Abenante, co-founder of NYIAX.

Mary Engle is EVP of policy at BBB National Programs, a nonprofit organization that’s helping keep self-regulation of the ad industry alive. She’s also spent more than three decades with the FTC. In this episode, Engle gets into the weeds on “commercial surveillance,” the nitty-gritty of ad disclosures, the FTC’s case against Kochava and more.

Last week, the IAB’s multistate privacy agreement (MSPA) was made available for advertisers, publishers and ad tech partners to sign and begin using to track their data flows. But what is the MSPA?

Back in 2018, Tim Cook said, “The truth is, we could make a ton of money if we monetized our customer—if our customer was our product.” Fast-forward to 2022, and, to deliver the most relevant Apple Search Ads, the company uses “information a customer includes in their Apple ID account” for ad targeting purposes. If that isn’t monetizing your customers, what is, writes Uriah Av-Ron, partner and founder at Oasis Public Relations.

A weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem…

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. The Ailment Is Worse Than The Keurig Keurig Dr Pepper sparked a rare joint agency outcry regarding an RFP for its PR business.  The beverage brand issued an RFP with 360-day payment terms – meaning the brand wouldn’t have to pay for work done […]

Following Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, the heads of privacy, security and compliance all abruptly left the company. The legal department is scrambling to pick up the pieces, asking engineers to “self-certify compliance.” The door is open for massive privacy breaches, writes Vuk Janosevic, co-founder and CEO of Blindnet.

How should advertisers approach a wild-child platform like Twitter? David Cohen, CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau – who recently spoke with Elon Musk himself on that very topic – weighs in. Also in this episode: grappling with the term “commercial surveillance,” retail media real talk and marketing in the metaverse.

Android has a Privacy Sandbox, too, and it’s going into open beta next year. Learn why this initiative isn’t generating the same ruckus as its close Chrome cousin, which is being hashed out at the W3C. Plus: a rundown on transparency (or the lack thereof) and the related data land grab in CTV.

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. The Apple Of Apple’s Eye Apple tracks iOS users even when they explicitly choose to “disable the sharing of Device Analytics altogether,” Gizmodo reports.  “Opting out or switching the personalization options off did not reduce the amount of detailed analytics that the app was […]

The “notice and choice” model makes sense in theory, but in practice? It’s a mess. Privacy platitudes need to stop, says Jessica Lee, a partner at Loeb & Loeb. Heck, some practitioners don’t even know how online advertising works.