Ad Standards' AdChoices Accountability Program 2017 Compliance Report

TORONTO, March 7, 2018 – Today, Ad Standards released the AdChoices Accountability Program: 2017 Compliance Report.

Through Ad Standards’ independent lens, their newest report highlights how companies participating in the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (DAAC)’s AdChoices program for online interest-based advertising have implemented the program’s Principles throughout 2017.

In this third annual report, the growth in notice & transparency compliance is noteworthy (from 69% in 2016 to 84% in 2017), and confirms that participant dedication to the AdChoices self-regulatory program is high. When comparing participating companies to those not yet engaged in the program, Ad Standards’ analysis found that DAAC participants do more to comply with the guidelines issued for interest-based advertising by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC). These guidelines are what the AdChoices program in Canada was modeled after.

“Ad Standards continues to do an excellent job of monitoring and encouraging  program participant  compliance with the self-regulatory Principles,” said Wally Hill, DAAC Chair. “The validity of our program increases with each report release, and this year’s report an excellent addition to our compliance record.”

“Accountability requires real work. Ad Standards commits many resources towards their monitoring efforts, and in turn, our participants take their advice seriously and dedicate countless hours and resources to comply with the program,” said Julie Ford, Executive Director of the DAAC. “What we see in this report is strong growth in understanding what the requirements are and our participants acting and improving on them year over year.”

The Canadian AdChoices program continues to grow with new participants in all areas of digital advertising. With the proliferation of the icon online, consumers understand more about what the AdChoices icon means, and how their data can be collected or used online for advertising purposes. The DAAC is committed to ensuring the self-regulatory program remains a solid solution for consumers to directly contact the online ad industry about their questions or concerns.

Throughout 2018, Ad Standards will assist participants in better understanding the mobile and video requirements issued by the DAAC.

About the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada

The Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (DAAC) is a consortium of the leading national advertising and marketing associations whose members share commitment to delivering a robust and credible self-regulatory program for responsible online interest-based advertising (IBA).

The Canadian AdChoices program was developed by the DAAC and designed to educate consumers about IBA and provide mechanisms for consumers to know when IBA is occurring and the ability to control whether or not they choose to permit the collection and use of their browsing data for IBA purposes. Companies may reference the DAAC’s AdChoices Principles and learn more at YourAdChoices.ca.