When Adalytics broke the news that Forbes operated the subdomain www3.forbes.com, it exposed a different kind of made-for-advertising (MFA) site. The URLs behind MFAs are often bland and unrecognizable, while Forbes’ hosted slideshow versions of its content crammed with ads, and most of the eyeballs came from paid traffic.
Also, in some bid requests, Adalytics showed, the www3 subdomain wasn’t properly labeled, so even buyers who blocked it couldn’t avoid buying ads on the site.
AdExchanger Associate Editor Anthony Vargus, who has been tracking the fallout, discusses the industry’s response to the report – which impacts buyers, publishers, DSPs, SSPs, the MRC and ad verification companies – and what it says about the state of ad tech.
Ad tech goes to DC
Then, Managing Editor Allison Schiff shares what she learned last week in Washington, DC, at the IAPP’s Global Privacy Summit, the largest privacy conference in the country.
Enforcers were surprisingly open with their regulatory priorities and where they are seeking enforcement actions, she says. They aren’t looking for “gotcha” moments to catch bad actors, but for companies to behave in a compliant way to begin with.
Lastly, Allison discusses this year’s regulatory priorities, along with the latest gurglings about federal privacy law. Repeat after her (and the regulators who said it before her): the magic approach to complying with data privacy: act in “good faith.” Unlike other areas of the real world, it’s the thought that counts, and making a good-faith effort to comply will go a long way with regulators.
