IAB Tech Lab Releases System Requirements for Proprietary Ad Systems

Your Voice Matters Too

Today, IAB Tech Lab released a comprehensive set of core system requirements for user agent platforms like browsers and operating systems or other standard setting organizations that support user agent platforms and operating systems and are engaging in building privacy-focused proprietary advertising systems. These sets of requirements were initially developed for assessing the Google Chrome Privacy Sandbox but have since been expanded so that anyone engaged in developing a new ad system or advertising related functionality can implement these requirements, for e.g. systems such as W3C’s Privacy-Preserving Attribution (PPA), Microsoft’s Ad Selection API (ASAPI), and Mozilla’s Interoperable Private Attribution.

It is recommended to read the Privacy Sandbox Fit-Gap Analysis as related reading material. These two documents work together to first evaluate Privacy Sandbox and then to define a core set of requirements to fulfill the needs of advertisers and publishers.

The Task Force

These requirements were developed within the Privacy Sandbox Task Force, with direct feedback from browser vendors and the brightest minds in digital advertising. It is a conclusion on brainstorming what are the core set of features and functionality needed to properly deliver and measure modern digital advertising campaigns.

The Privacy Sandbox Task Force is composed of leaders from 65 companies. After evaluating Privacy Sandbox they set their sights in describing the core foundational needs needed for every aspect of delivering and measuring a digital advertising campaign. This document is a result of months of meticulously discussing what those core requirements are. The goal of the document is to describe WHAT system functions are needed and not HOW vendors should implement such features.

System Requirements

The document is broken up into different priorities and feature categories. The high priority requirements focus on compliance, brand safety, reconciliation, and attribution reporting. The remaining requirements focus on fraud detection, VAST support, native support, and advanced reporting.

Each use case is first described from the point of view of a buyer, seller, and/or their delegated vendors. Then each requirement is set forth and described using a test-driven development specification language. This style would make it easy for a system implementer to simply check off each described requirement to ensure fulfillment of industry needs.

What’s Next

As vendors continue to build and standards bodies work on creating private advertising standards, it is critical that advertisers and publishers have a forum to help communicate their requirements. Typically, as seen in the fit-gap analysis, solutions and proposals are found to be lacking in functionality. It is important that the advertising industry has a voice that can be heard by those building and designing these proprietary ad systems.

We urge every participant from the advertising industry to join the Task Force, now renamed to the Private Ad Systems Task Force as we expand to evangelize their requirements, comment on proposals, and continue to collaborate with vendors and browser standards bodies.

Miguel Morales headshot

Miguel Morales
Director, Addressability & PETs
IAB Tech Lab