The Digital Advertising Accountability Program, which enforces privacy principles for digital advertising, issued a compliance warning to advertisers regarding device fingerprinting. This warning is worth keeping in mind, since the “fingerprinting” practice is rising in more and more industries.
Continue Reading DAA Issues Warning On Device Fingerprinting

The Belgian Data Protection Authority (APD) recently released a draft decision imposing a €250,000 fine ($285,000) on the provider of a consent mechanism that operates within a real-time ad bidding program. The ad bidding program, OpenRTB, allows advertisers to place online ads through an automated online auction of available ad space. Thousands of advertisers can bid on space in real time, through a fairly complex process involving many different entities (a schematic of the process was included by the ADP in its decision on page 9). The case first arose in 2019, and after several interim decisions the ADP has now held in this draft decision, among other things, a two month deadline for IAB Europe to present a remediation plan to the ADP. The case was one with cross-Europe impact, and thus the ADP’s decision has been sent to its European counterparts for feedback.
Continue Reading Interactive Advertising Bureau of Europe Fined By Belgian DPA for GDPR Violation

The Network Advertising Initiative, which provides guidance to advertisers who engage in personalized advertising, updated its Code of Conduct (2020 Code) earlier this year to address, inter alia, data collected offline and used for tailored advertising, as well as CCPA and TV-based tailored advertising. In anticipation of the January 1, 2020 effective date of the Code, the NAI recently issued a guidance on how to get “opt-in consent.” While the NAI Code and guidance is applicable only to NAI members, the requirements are important for all to know, since it is these members who typically implement companies’ online behavioral advertising.
Continue Reading NAI’s 2020 Code Effective January 1 Along with CCPA

The Online Interest Based-Advertising Accountability Program, which enforces privacy principles for digital advertising, recently announced its 100th action. In announcing this landmark, the Accountability Program looked back at the nature of the cases it has brought, noting that it has covered both desktop and mobile issues, and its focus has fallen into a few key categories. These include providing consumers with “enhanced notice” of behavioral advertising activities and ensuring that opt-out tools exist (and that they work!). The Accountability Program also took the opportunity to remind online advertisers about its OBA Self-Regulatory Principles, and the guidance for applying the principles in a mobile environment.
Continue Reading Interest-Based Advertising Enforcer Hits 100

The ICO first began its examination of Bounty UK Ltd. (a support club for parents) when the ICO was investigating the data brokerage industry generally, of which it viewed Bounty as taking part (given that it shared member information with third parties like Acxiom and Equifax). Here, in reaching its conclusion that the company had violated UK privacy laws, the ICO found the volume of sharing in which Bounty engaged “unprecedented,” and accused the company of both “careless data-sharing” as well as violations of the UK law that pre-dated GDPR (the violation having occurred prior to the law’s May 2018 implementation date). Interestingly, the violation has been described by commentators as a “data breach,” although it did not involve the typical “hacker” scenario that one thinks of when contemplating a breach. Instead, the company collected information and shared it with third parties without appropriate notice and consent.
Continue Reading UK ICO Fines Parenting Club £400,000 Over Breach Involving PII of Mothers and Babies

The Better Business Bureau’s Online Interest Based Advertising Accountability Program announced that that it will require interest-based video ads to provide notice and choice to viewers as of April 1, 2018, as we reported in our Advertising blog, in compliance with the Digital Advertising Alliance’s self-regulatory principles for interest-based advertising. As providers of interest-based video ad networks and services gear up for the deadline, there are three core areas to think about. First, the basics, are you engaging in interest-based advertising in the serving of your video ads? Now is the time, in advance of the April 1 date, to have these conversations with your business teams. Second, if the answer is yes, how are users being provided with notice? Is the notice compliant with the DAA Principles? For example, is it up-front? Does it direct users to a location where they can get more detailed information about your activities? Third, how are users being provided with choice? For those who engage in other types of interest based advertising, these steps will sound familiar. But expanding the conversation with marketing to video advertising may be new.
Continue Reading How to Prepare Interest-Based Video Ads for the April 1 Deadline