Updated MRC guidelines on invalid traffic

  • The Media Rating Council (MRC) has released an update to the standards for combating invalid traffic (IVT).
  • New standards for verifiers.
  • MRC strengthens transparency requirements.

The MRC spent years analyzing and months testing to prepare the update to the standards for combating invalid traffic, however, recent events in the industry forced MRC to release the update as soon as possible.

The document discusses how verifiers must consider privacy requirements when designing measurement methods and audits. It emphasizes that measurement standards must not deviate from strict privacy requirements.

It specifies the division of IVT into general invalid traffic (GIVT) and sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT), each requiring different detection and filtering methods. Current standards and methods for detecting IVT, such as data analysis, using IP address lists, and identifying fake user agents, are described.

Issues of spoofing, including the falsification of Bundle ID in CTV, are considered.

It is suggested that verifiers compile lists of #MFA-sites and other sources of danger. Defining MFA inventory has many nuances, but a recent case with a subdomain of #Forbes demonstrates "&em;possibly the highest level of fraud," stated MRC CEO George Ivy. This definitely qualifies as domain spoofing, which should be regulated by MRC standards.

The document can be downloaded here.

To Publishers

Publishers will soon feel the necessity to comply with the new MRC standards.

Forecast

The ongoing events and significant budgets spent on MFA sites are intensifying the demands for transparency and accountability from both publishers and agencies. Possibly, the standards will further adapt to new types of IVT, such as fully AI-generated #AI sites.

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