Advertising associations have launched a voluntary effort to discourage ad placements in pirated online content that has the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Trustworthy Accountability Group was created by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to address ad-supported piracy, fraud, malware and more.
TAG CEO Linda Woolley announced the launch of the Brand Integrity Program Against Piracy at IAB's annual leadership meeting in Phoenix.
The initiative is voluntary, but provides "tools and services" to keep ads from running on Web sites and "other properties that present an unacceptable risk of being associated with infringing activities."
Ad technology companies can earn the Digital Advertising Assurance Providers (DAAP) certification after third party validators—Ernst & Young for one—determine that they are providing tools to limit ad companies' exposure to "undesirable" Web sites.
Also supporting the voluntary effort are the Recording Industry Association of America, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Independent Film & Television Alliance, CreativeFuture, and the Copyright Alliance.
Industry efforts targeting the ads that support piracy are among the approaches suggested by opponents of legislation (SOPA and PIPA most notably) targeting offending Web sites.
"The creative community supports TAG’s Brand Integrity Program Against Piracy, and we applaud advertising industry leaders for this positive step. Advertisers now have innovative tools to keep their good ads off bad sites," said CreativeFuture executive director Ruth Vitale. "This program helps protect the integrity of advertisers’ brands, while rewarding the hardworking creators of movies, TV, music, books, software, and other creative works. We are hopeful this effort will be broadly embraced."
