Large numbers of flash video and rich media ads will start alerting consumers that their behavior is being tracked, following an agreement between privacy company Truste and ad platform Adap.tv. This makes the second major video ad platform to adopt the alert icons, Tremor Video having announced its plans to roll them out in September. The two companies account for 40 percent of video ads that reach U.S. consumers, according to comScore.
“Truste feels strongly about informing consumers about their privacy choices – yet doing it in a way that doesn’t thwart industry innovation,” said Chris Babel, CEO of Truste. “Integrating this capability further reflects our commitment to provide notice and choice not only on any platform but also for any medium.”
The licensed icon is the most visible part of the online advertising industry’s self-regulatory privacy program, which establishes best practices for online behavioral advertising (OBA) among other tools. It is being managed by the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), an initiative led by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), and the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
“Making sure that our company keeps pace with evolving industry requirements — including OBA compliance — is a priority for Adap.tv,” said Toby Gabriner, president of Adap.tv. “Integrating TRUSTed Ads directly into our platform provides advertisers and publishers with a consistent and recognized solution for communicating their online data privacy practices.”
Related Links:
MediaPost – http://tinyurl.com/3p448tq
Self-Regulatory Program for OBA – http://www.aboutads.info/
Photo by flickr user kyknoord, used under Creative Commons license
