Smaato Assists IAB to Create the Global In-App GDPR Transparency & Consent Solution for the Mobile Advertising Industry

Public Consultation Running Until Early June to Add New Implementation Scenario to Framework, Help Companies Meet GDPR Requirements on Disclosure, Legal Bases

Smaato, the leading global real-time advertising platform for mobile publishers and app developers, has announced in parallel with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Tech Lab the release of an in-app consent solution to meet the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). After the IAB Europe Transparency and Consent Framework was implemented in the web environment, Smaato and the IAB Tech Lab, as well as other leading advertising experts, pushed to adopt this approach for the in-app ecosystem. This reference implementation will help the in-app advertising industry, from publishers to technology companies to marketers, comply with the EU’s rules on data protection and privacy — specifically the GDPR which goes into effect on May 25, 2018.

After meeting with members of the IAB Europe at Mobile World Congress in late February, Smaato joined the IAB Europe’s GDPR Implementation Working Group (GIG) and IAB Tech Lab’s GDPR Working Group to help create the in-app solution. IAB Europe and IAB Tech Lab drafted a reference implementation for how consent can be gathered and shared using an industry-wide standardized approach. Whereas other industry leaders have siloed their in-app consent solutions, Smaato and other members of the IAB Tech Lab have provided an open-source framework that is available to all publishers.

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As a data controller, Smaato is the first to support the new solution inside its Android and iOS SDKs. This seamless integration in the Smaato SDKs allows publishers to gather the required user consent for collecting, processing and distributing EU personal data for advertising purposes. Publishers will benefit from the open-source framework, as users will have a better experience by being able to answer and manage consent in just one place inside an app. The demand side will benefit from having a joint solution for both web and in-app enabling easier GDPR-compliant approaches that will improve transparency with users.

“In-app advertising continues to surge and Smaato is in a unique position to help guide the industry. In-app currently accounts for 96% of global ad spending on our platform, so we are always looking for ways to help mobile in-app publishers, technology partners and advertisers,” said Freddy Friedman, CPO at Smaato. “By assisting the IAB Tech Lab in creating this new open-source in-app consent framework, we are not only helping publishers on our platform but publishers and partners everywhere who must comply with the GDPR.”

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“During the public consultation on the initial technical specifications for the Transparency & Consent Framework that ran during March and April, we were frequently asked what the plan was for mobile app implementation,” noted Townsend Feehan, IAB Europe CEO. “It is great to be able to go back to the market so quickly now with a proposed way forward.”

By making the Transparency & Consent Framework open-source, Smaato, IAB Europe and IAB Tech Lab look forward to the near future when the approach and reference implementation are picked up and improved upon by different Consent Management Providers (CMP). In doing so, CMPs will be able to offer adjustable in-app user interfaces and improved user experience. For more information about IAB Europe Transparency and Consent Framework, visit the official IAB GitHub, or to access the Consent In-App APIs, visit the official Smaato GitHub.

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