The Brand Safety Institute is following up its MFA transparency dashboard launch with a new tool focused on data integrity, introducing another dashboard that publishers can use to assess regulatory compliance risks across the data they collect and manage. The new offering is being provided in partnership with Compliant, a company that provides “data integrity signals.”
According to the launch press release, the new offering—aptly dubbed the Data Integrity Dashboard—will be available through BSI’s toolkit and will evaluate data integrity and compliance across 13 “regulatory risk categories” related to data collection, usage, and sharing. It will allow participating publishers to understand how they rank and benchmark their progress as brands and marketers increasingly seek data stewardship clarity from their partners. Per the release, “Publishers who fail to meet minimum industry benchmarks… risk being excluded from media buys.”
Why This Matters:
Last year, Compliant put out some self-promotional but nonetheless interesting research suggesting that 90% of publishers are “dropping the ball on data compliance” and are at risk for issues like data leakage, with U.S. publishers perhaps more vulnerable given stricter regulations overseas. Ultimately, this affects revenue. If you’re a publisher not adhering to governance standards (which are rising), obviously, there is a risk in advertisers working with you. (And, beyond that, there is the more obvious revenue risk of a compliance threat growing into something much worse and harmful.)
There’s an interesting tension here: we’ve seen a surge in first-party data interest over the last few years (cookies or no cookies), and as that ramps up, it makes sense that compliance expectations would expand. However, managing compliance—especially with a patchwork of state-by-state legislation—is difficult and increasingly expensive, adding complexity and cost.
Experts React:
Scott Cunningham of the IAB Tech Lab is quoted in the announcement, saying: “We must continue developing and implementing initiatives that foster transparency, promote compliance, and ensure responsible data handling. Tools that provide this kind of visibility are critical for building strong, successful B2B and B2C relationships.”
A LinkedIn post by Compliant CEO Jamie Barnard adds more context, noting that “as buyers increasingly prioritise data quality, publishers with better data practices will capitalize on the demand for reliable, premium inventory, commanding a disproportionate share of media investment.” He adds that the deal with BSI “gives publishers a critical information advantage.”
Our Take:
Random thought: what is a publisher today? How do we define “publisher,” and what does that mean for data integrity?
Retailers and brands, through retail media networks, are now publishers too—and they’re already required to comply with strict data management rules. How does a traditional publisher compete on compliance and quality in that environment? Maybe I’m being a little existential for no reason. But if data integrity is becoming a core differentiator for ad revenue—and businesses like Walmart or Planet Fitness are now acting as publishers—are we even talking about the same thing anymore? Apples and oranges? IDK!
