As Digital Ad Industry Rallies Behind Efforts, TAG Announces 2017 Seal Recipients for TAG Anti-Fraud, Anti-Piracy, Transparency Programs

WASHINGTON, DC – April 11, 2017 – The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), an advertising industry initiative to fight criminal activity in the digital advertising supply chain, today announced that more than 200 companies in the digital advertising industry from more than 20 countries have now applied for TAG Registration, a prerequisite for participation in TAG certification seal programs. TAG Registered companies have been verified as legitimate participants in the digital advertising industry through a proprietary background check and review process powered by Dun & Bradstreet and subsequent approval by TAG. Following their approval, companies can be searched by name – or by their unique, persistent TAG-IDs – through the TAG Registry.

In another sign of the broad and deep industry support for its efforts, TAG also announced the companies that have been awarded certification seals so far in 2017 through the Certified Against Fraud, Certified Against Piracy, and Inventory Quality Guidelines (IQG) programs. (The inaugural seal recipients for the TAG Certified Against Malware Program, the fourth of TAG’s program areas, will be announced later this year.)

“Our industry’s efforts to fight fraud, combat malware, stop piracy, and improve transparency are building overwhelming momentum, as hundreds of companies agree to join TAG and take part in our certification programs,” said Mike Zaneis, CEO of TAG. “Over the coming months, we plan to extend TAG’s efforts to include even more advertisers, brands, and agencies, as TAG participation becomes a mandatory baseline requirement for every legitimate company doing business in the digital advertising ecosystem. We commend the companies who have applied for TAG Registration and been awarded TAG certification seals for 2017 as they help us create a safe and trustworthy framework for the continued growth and success of digital advertising.”

New TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal Recipients

TAG today named the second group of companies to be awarded the TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal, including Forensiq*, LKQD*, Publicis Groupe, Publishers Clearing House*, Receptiv (formerly MediaBrix), Sociomantic Labs*, and Verta Media, all of whom have completed the review process around TAG’s rigorous set of anti-fraud requirements. (Starred companies (*) were independently validated by an external auditor, BPA Worldwide, while the other companies self-attested to their compliance.)

Those companies bring the total to 23 companies that have received the TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal, joining the first group of companies named in December 2016. The initial group of TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal recipients included Amobee, comScore, DoubleVerify, Dstillery, Google, WPP’s GroupM, Horizon Media, Integral Ad Science, Interpublic Group, Moat, Omnicom Media Group, OpenX Technologies, Inc.*, ProData Media, Rocket Fuel Inc., Sovrn*, and White Ops, Inc. Additional information about the TAG Certified Against Fraud Program can be found here.

2017 TAG Certified Against Piracy Seal Recipients

TAG also announced the 2017 Seal recipients for the Certified Against Piracy Program, validating those companies as TAG-approved providers of anti-piracy services.

The 2017 Certified Against Piracy Seal recipients are Amobee, AppNexus*, comScore*, DataXu, DoubleVerify*, Forensiq*, Google, WPP’s GroupM, Integral Ad Science*, LKQD*, OpenX*, Sovrn*, SpotX, Veri-Site SIPI*, and WhiteBULLET*. (Starred companies (*) were independently validated by external auditors, BPA Worldwide or Ernst & Young, while the other companies self-attested to their compliance.) Additional information about the TAG Certified Against Piracy Program can be found here.

2017 TAG Inventory Quality Guidelines Seal Recipients

TAG also announced the 2017 Seal recipients for the Inventory Quality Guidelines (IQG) 2.2 Program, which provides a set of common disclosures relating to the quality of the inventory for publishers and platforms to inform their clients and partners on the buy-side. Those guidelines increase transparency in the ecosystem by giving companies a common framework to describe and disclose the characteristics of advertising inventory and creative content before and during transactions.

The 2017 IQG Seal recipients are AppNexus*, Conversant Media, DataXu, Goodway Group, GumGum*, LKQD*, OpenX*, RhythmOne, RocketFuel, Sovrn*, SpotX, Tremor Video, Unruly*, Viant, Vibrant Media, Yahoo, and Ziff Davis. (Starred companies (*) were independently validated by an external auditor, BPA Worldwide, to achieve Tier One status, while the other companies self-attested to their audit and compliance.) Additional information about the TAG IQG Program can be found here.

Future Seal Recipients

In addition to the 2017 seal recipients named today, additional companies will be recognized over coming months as they complete the TAG Registration and TAG certification processes.

About the Trustworthy Accountability Group

The Trustworthy Accountability Group was created to foster transformational improvement at scale across the digital advertising ecosystem, focusing on four core areas: eliminating fraudulent traffic, combating malware, fighting ad-supported Internet piracy to promote brand integrity, and promoting brand safety through greater transparency. For more information on TAG, please visit tagtoday.net.