What Marketers Need to Know About the IAB's Latest Ad Fraud Crackdown

Its heralded ads.txt protocol has shown mixed results amidst uneven adoption

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The digital ad industry has few more reliable constants than fraud, a problem that costs advertisers $51 million per day, according to Juniper Research.

As malpractice and criminal convictions mount, the IAB Tech Lab is planning a further transparency crackdown by drafting detailed guidelines to help media buyers enact anti-fraud measures.

In particular, the nonprofit aims to patch up the loopholes left open by previous protocols, such as ads.txt, which are allowing criminals to undermine some of the digital media sector’s most lucrative opportunities.

“It’s going to be about the supply chain framework, the tools that should be used and, more importantly, questions the buy-side and the advertiser should be asking the entire supply chain,” said Anthony Katsur, IAB Tech Lab CEO.

Crackdowns pre-empt an uptick in spend

The guide’s release comes as part of a broader, industry-wide transparency effort.

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