DAA Blog

This week, I had the honor of sharing information about our program with the members of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, led by Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ), both in written and oral testimony on behalf of the Digital Advertising Alliance. Our written testimony is posted here.

The focus of the hearing was cybersecurity, malware and its impact on advertising – issues that concern both consumers and the ad business. I was joined on panel with Maneesha Mithal, associate director, division of privacy and identity protection, of the Federal Trade Commission.

Yet – as security and malware was the hearing focus – we truly believe it is necessary to provide the benefits of online advertising as an important context to recognize. While citing recent research from our own study this year, and that from the Data-Driven Marketing Institute, we also said:

“Because of advertising, consumers can access a wealth of online...

Two weeks ago, the Digital Advertising Alliance announced the results of a Zogby consumer research effort it commissioned which provided an opportunity to take the temperature regarding U.S. consumer attitudes about their Internet experiences, and their understanding of how advertising (and interest-based advertising) helps to finance the quantity, quality and diversity of content they experience there.

More than half of all Americans polled (51.3 percent) said they’d be more likely to click on an online ad that included an icon – like the Advertising Option icon – that allowed them to opt out of ad-related information collection.

Additionally, more than 73 percent of users polled said they’d feel more comfortable with interest-based ads if they knew they had access to the protections that the DAA currently provides (opt out, limitations on data collection, third-party enforcement), according to the survey, which polled 1,004 U.S. adults.

These are indeed confirming statistics – demonstrating consumers’ pragmatism toward advertising and the Internet.  Such findings are not Zogby’s alone.

Recently, DAA Partner...

Fresh off the recent announcement of the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada taking shape with its self-regulation efforts on behalf of interest-based advertising (IBA), our colleagues in Europe held a multi-day workshop on IBA recently under the aegis of the European Advertising Standards Alliance (in which the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance or EDAA participates) and was joined by Advertising Standards Canada, which will enforce the DAAC’s Principles for IBA).  During the event, discussions took place among Self-Regulatory Organizations right across the European Union and European Economic Area about interest-based advertising, IBA in mobile environments, and...

Hundreds of companies – advertisers, marketers, ad networks, ad agencies and technology providers – participate in the Digital Advertising Alliance and license use of the Advertising Option “AdChoices” icon.

Many of them choose to do so using the DAA’s Approved Provider partners – Evidon and TRUSTe. While not a requirement of the program, many companies elect to work with our Approved Providers because of the efficiency and peace of mind associated with a turnkey solution. These firms act as technical and compliance resources for DAA Participants, they advocate for interest-based advertising, and they serve to educate the digital and mobile advertising ecosystem as our outreach expands in a multi-screen environment. Each explains to clients their assistance with DAA Principles compliance here:

Crownpeak (formerly Evidon): https://www.crownpeak.com/

TrustArc (formerly TRUSTe): https://trustarc.com/

Some DAA participants may choose to use Evidon or TRUSTe as turnkey solution providers that allow them (the participants) to display the icon, insert interstitials (for notice and choice) and record their compliance with DAA Principles. Collectively, these actions serve to bolster consumer trust. Recently, we sat down with both firms to discuss their involvement...

We at the Digital Advertising Alliance applaud our Canadian colleagues for their launch of the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada.   The DAAC joins the United States and 28 other nations of the world in extending the DAA’s core principles of consumer control and transparency to consumers in the Internet marketplace.

The successful launch of the DAAC once again illustrates the flexibility and universality of the core DAA Principles. While laws and norms vary from nation-to-nation and region-to-region, the underlying principles of the DAA program translate in all languages and cultural standards.

DAAC now joins the DAA and the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance in driving the global expansion of self-regulatory choice and transparency for the collection and use of web viewing data.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR EXISTING DAA (USA) LICENSEES REGARDING EXTENDING THEIR USAGE RIGHTS INTO CANADA: U.S. license holders of the DAA Icon may extend their usage rights into the Canadian market by completing this online addendum: https://digitaladvertisingalliance.org/license