Anti-Piracy Efforts Gain Momentum as Leading Advertisers and Agencies Commit to Fight Piracy and Counterfeiting

Strategic Insights -

The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), a digital advertising industry initiative, has announced that leading advertisers and agencies have pledged to take aggressive steps to fight digital piracy and counterfeit goods. The TAG anti-piracy program aims to prevent ad placement on websites that facilitate the distribution of pirated content and/or the illegal dissemination of counterfeit goods. According to TAG, this campaign marks a significant turning point in the fight against ad-supported digital piracy.

Key Takeaways:

  • The TAG anti-piracy program has gained momentum with 21 major advertisers and 9 agencies committing to take commercially reasonable steps to minimize inadvertent ad placement on pirate sites.
  • The list of advertisers includes top brands such as Allstate, American Express, Colgate-Palmolive, Comcast, GroupM, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg's, MillerCoors, Unilever, and Walmart.
  • Agencies signing the pledge include GroupM, Horizon Media, Maxus Global, MediaCom, MediaVest, Mindshare, MEC, Neo@Ogilvy, and ZenithOptimedia Group.
  • The first group of validated anti-piracy service providers includes companies like comScore, DoubleVerify, Incopro, Integral Ad Science, and Veri-Site, which have undergone an independent third-party audit process.
  • Digital ad leaders OpenX, Rocket Fuel, PubMatic, and SpotXchange were certified in their anti-piracy efforts through a TAG-designed self-attestation process.
  • The TAG anti-piracy program helps prevent ad placement on websites that facilitate piracy and counterfeit goods, and companies using a TAG-validated provider of anti-piracy services can receive a "Certified Against Piracy" seal.

Statistics:

  • The digital ad industry is estimated to lose around $2.4 billion each year due to pirated content, according to a study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and EY.
  • Approximately two billion dollars of the total loss is attributed to consumers who do not pay for infringed content, while an additional $456 million is lost in potential advertising revenue.
  • The first group of validated anti-piracy service providers has completed the validation process and will provide services to help cut off the flow of advertising revenue to pirate sites.

Sources:

  • "Trustworthy Accountability Group Announces First Group of Validated Anti-Piracy Service Providers" PR Newswire, December 8, 2015
  • "TAG Announces First Group of Validated Anti-Piracy Service Providers" press release, TAGtoday.net, December 8, 2015
  • "TAG Anti-Piracy Program" TAGtoday.net, accessed December 8, 2015
  • "Eliminating Fraudulent Traffic, Combating Malware, Fighting Ad-Supported Internet Piracy, and Promoting Brand Safety" TAGtoday.net, accessed December 8, 2015