The Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) is providing an updated opt-out tool to participating companies as an additional way to effectuate consumer opt-outs, or revocations of prior consent, to certain digital advertising activity.
For companies that use “tokens” (sometimes referred to as “hashed” email address) as an identifier for their digital advertising services, the updated opt-out/consent revocation tool will be one way that a consumer can request to opt-out or withdraw consent to Online Behavioral Advertising (“OBA”) (also known as Interest-Based Advertising (“IBA”)). The opt-out/consent revocation would apply to participating companies that engage in such advertising using an email-based token consistent with the DAA Self-Regulatory Principles and Guidance.
Like cookies, tokens are a technical mechanism used in the digital advertising ecosystem to enable relevant advertising to the right audiences. As it has done in the decade-plus since it first established the Self-Regulatory Principles and later WebChoices and AppChoices, the DAA continues to offer the tools required for consumers to have meaningful transparency and control for the collection, use, and transfer of data about their digital activity for IBA purposes. By participating in the new tool, companies can help to reinforce with consumers and their partners that the participating company is committed to user privacy and transparency.
By submitting their email address through the DAA tool, consumers will be able to opt-out or revoke consent for the use of their email address as a token for IBA by participating companies for DAA-covered advertising purposes. Similar to the approach taken for DAA choice mechanisms already in the market, companies may continue to use tokenized emails for the purposes listed in the DAA Principles purpose limitations. Importantly, as prior DAA Guidance made clear, an opt-out through this tool applies to the collection, use, and transfer of data related to the email address submitted by the consumer for IBA purposes. However, that also means that an opt-out/revocation does not apply to the email-based tokens used for non-IBA purposes, nor does it apply to other identifiers like cookies. Consumers can separately opt-out of other identifiers through the traditional WebChoices and AppChoices platforms.
DAA constantly monitors the digital advertising ecosystem and strives to provide companies and consumers with effective tools for transparency and choice. With the implementation of the updated opt-out tool, DAA continues that tradition.
Posted: April 29, 2021
