Digital Advertising Alliance Announces CCPA Tools for Ad Industry

Digital Advertising , CCPA Tools , Ad Industry

The Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) announced cross-industry tools for publishers, brands, agencies and adtech in the digital advertising supply chain to provide consumers a clear and recognizable mechanism to opt-out under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).1

The DAA guidance calls for web and app publishers to display a CCPA-mandated text link and a unique icon to California users on their digital properties. Clicking on the link will direct users to publisher information and options, including access to the CCPA Opt-Out Tool if third parties collect and sell data from the property.

Consistent with the functionality of the existing DAA choice mechanisms, the CCPA Opt-Out Tools will give consumers broader privacy control than required under the CCPA by allowing them to opt-out of the sale of personal information across all of the DAA participating companies integrated into the new tools, from a single website or app.

The tools will enable consumers to express an opt-out from the sale of their personal information, including its use for interest-based advertising, by companies that collect data across sites and are offering a CCPA opt-out to the sale of information through the tools. (An app version of the tool will provide the same breadth of control for companies in the in-app world).

“These tools create a simple and recognizable mechanism for consumers to express their opt-out rights under the CCPA for the sale of data collected not only on any individual site but also across sites served by third parties in the digital ecosystem that participate in the DAA tool,” said Lou Mastria, Executive Director of the DAA. “The tools also provide a timely implementation path for companies based on existing technologies and proven models.”

DAA guidance and tools will include the following elements:

  1. A text link and new green icon for publishers to display on their web and app-based digital properties. The DAA recommends that the text link read “CA Do Not Sell My Info” or other CCPA-compliant languages. The green icon will use the same familiar design as the existing YourAdChoices and PoliticalAds icons to aid user recognition.
  2. The text link and icon will take users to a publisher-hosted notice that will provide useful information and control, including either or both of the following, as needed:
    • If the publisher itself collects and sells personal information, the publisher’s page should include a publisher’s choice mechanism that allows users to opt-out of the publisher’s sale of that data.
    •  If any third-party businesses collect information through a publisher’s digital property and sell that personal information, the page should include a link to the cross-industry CCPA Opt-Out Tool provided by DAA
  3. The CCPA Opt-Out Tool will allow users to opt-out of the sale of their personal information by any or all of the participating companies in the new DAA tools, including third parties collecting and selling personal information through the publisher’s site or app. Third parties often collect that personal information through a publisher’s website or app, and they can use the DAA’s tools to effectuate an opt-out under the CCPA of that activity, including collection across different websites and mobile apps regardless of publisher. Expanding the privacy benefit for consumers, any user’s request not to sell their personal information will apply across all the properties on which that data is collected by each third party, not only for the originating publisher site or app. This means that consumers can opt-out of the scale of data collected across websites and mobile apps by companies participating in the DAA tools.

“The digital advertising ecosystem is incredibly complicated and interconnected, so we need tools that work both for individual companies and across the supply chain,” said Michael Signorelli, Partner Venable LLP, and Counsel to the DAA. “Today we’re outlining the roadmap for our approach, so companies can begin taking the internal steps necessary to adapt their systems for rapid implementation with well understood and deployed technologies. Over the next few weeks, we will quickly roll out the tools, guidelines, and technical specifications needed for full adoption.”

The CCPA Opt-Out Tools will be available via desktop browsers, mobile web browsers, and a mobile app. The tools will be available in English and Spanish. Over the coming weeks, the DAA plans to educate its participating companies and the industry at large about how to implement its CCPA compliance tools.

While the DAA’s tools contain notice requirements for publishers, the CCPA Opt-Out Tools are designed to provide the ability for consumers to opt-out of the sale of personal information by third-party businesses.  Publishers should seek their own technology tools to help them meet their requirements under the DAA’s guidelines and the CCPA itself.