MRC Updates Ad Fraud Standards

In New York, the Media Rating Council (MRC) has updated its Invalid Traffic (IVT) Detection and Filtration Standards, to better reflect the range of ad fraud threats and related issues in today's online environment.

First issued in late 2015, the IVT Standards serve as an addendum to the body's other digital measurement guidelines and standards, in assessing both first-time or continued accreditation-seekers. Those currently accredited will have a one-year grace period to come into compliance with this update.

The main goal of the revised Standards is to ensure measurers have in place processes to continually detect and assess new invalid traffic scenarios as they emerge, including both non-human traffic (spiders, bots, etc.) and activity designed to produce IVT.

The revisions include the addition of more specific Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT) areas; and specific requirements on risk assessment by platform. In addition, they include new requirements to disclose a 'decision rate' metric, as an indicator of how much campaign traffic was subject to determination of validity and how much was not able to be fully assessed.

The full Addendum can be viewed and downloaded at www.mediaratingcouncil.org .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.