Join us as we continue exploring DSA-level transparency disclosures on Online Platforms under the Digital Services Act. In other words: what does the DSA require of businesses in scope of the regulation, and what could implementation look like in a real-world scenario?
Sounds familiar? Read on!
Need more info? Navigate to the first article in this series for more clarity about the regulatory context of these reflections.
Today we explore the most common use case for the requirements of DSA Art. 26: Online Platforms hosting third-party ads. This could apply to a variety of digital properties, including for example:
- C2C second-hand marketplaces hosting third-party ads at the top, sides or bottom of their listing pages;
- Social media platforms displaying third-party ads in-between regular posts;
- B2C travel and accommodation aggregators dedicating part of their real estate to third-party creatives.
Third party ads are most commonly trafficked programmatically: this means that the information needed to align with the requirements of DSA Art. 26 is not directly at hand for the Online Platform, who is ultimately responsible to deliver the disclosure. This state of affairs requires a deep level of trust and collaboration among actors in the digital advertising ecosystem.
Information can reliably be gathered at campaign creation time and transferred across the supply chain: the tools listed below can help you accomplish this task.
AdChoices Icon
This simple and effective transparency tool, accompanied by localised text, indicates to consumers that they’re looking at an advertisement, and that there are further layers of information available upon interaction with the Icon.
Note: the size of the Icon was increased in the example above for the purpose of demonstration.
The AdChoices Icon is already well recognised by consumers and widely adopted by the industry. The technical guidance made available to companies ensures that the size and positioning of the Icon does not interfere with the message conveyed by the creative.
The Icon layer is usually added upstream by licensed DSPs, ad servers, or an Approved Icon Provider. In order to ensure that all ads displayed on your property carry the Icon, even when rendered by a company that is not authorised to deliver it, it is recommended that you obtain a license too. Enabling your ad server to display the Icon over third-party creatives, where needed, will ensure consistency, prevent the delivery of ads without a transparency disclosure, and convey trustworthiness to brands wanting to ensure that their ads never lack proper consumer-facing information.
OpenRTB DSA Transparency Extension
If you host third-party ads trafficked programmatically, this RTB extension developed by IAB Europe and IAB Tech Lab will help ensure that all of the necessary information reaches your page and, ultimately, your readers. For every transaction, you always have a choice between rending the transparency information yourself — be it to retain a higher degree of control or to ensure a consistent user experience — or instructing the winning DSP to do this for you.
For more information about the Extension, consult the technical guidance available here.
Enhanced Transparency Page
Deliver all the required transparency information — and more, if you so wish — within a dedicated page in your consumer’s national language. You can control its content and appearance yourself, use our dedicated template, or delegate this task to the DSPs you work with.
Choice & Control
To provide consumers with relevant options for choice and control over the main parameters used to show them personalised ads, employ a reliable solution. For the Profiling parameter, you can integrate with the YourOnlineChoices.eu portal to offer consumers a simple and intuitive ON/OFF preference tool.
This is what all of the above could look like on your property:
Interested in learning more about these tools, and how they can be integrated into your platform
to deliver DSA-level information to consumers?
EDAA’s Advanced Advertising Transparency Programme is here to help!
Contact us at aatp@edaa.eu for more info,
or apply for participation here:
