Mobile App Publishers Agree to Comply with Digital Advertising Alliance Self-Regulatory Principles | Practical Law

Mobile App Publishers Agree to Comply with Digital Advertising Alliance Self-Regulatory Principles | Practical Law

The Advertising Self-Regulatory Council (ASRC), an advertising industry self-regulatory program administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, announced three decisions applying the Digital Advertising Alliance Self-Regulatory Principles (DAA Principles) to mobile app providers.

Mobile App Publishers Agree to Comply with Digital Advertising Alliance Self-Regulatory Principles

by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology
Published on 06 May 2016 • USA (National/Federal)
The Advertising Self-Regulatory Council (ASRC), an advertising industry self-regulatory program administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, announced three decisions applying the Digital Advertising Alliance Self-Regulatory Principles (DAA Principles) to mobile app providers.
On May 4, 2016, the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council (ASRC), an advertising industry self-regulatory program administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, announced three decisions applying the Digital Advertising Alliance Self-Regulatory Principles (DAA Principles) to mobile app providers.
Companies engaged in interest-based advertising in the desktop or mobile environment are expected to comply with the DAA Principles. The DAA Principles are detailed in four documents available on the DAA website:
  • The Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising.
  • The Self-Regulatory Principles for Multi-Site Data.
  • The Application of Self-Regulatory Principles to the Mobile Environment.
  • The Application of the DAA Principles of Transparency and Control to Data Used Across Devices.
The three decisions involved:
  • Spinrilla LLC, which publishes a mobile app that allows users to stream hip-hop music. This decision explains the steps that an application must take before allowing a third party to collect precise geolocation data from a consumer for use in interest-based advertising. In response, Sprinrilla:
    • rescinded permissions for third parties to collect precise user geolocation data;
    • added links to an interest-based advertising disclosure with opt-out instructions; and
    • enhanced its notice of data collection and use.
  • Top Free Games and Bearbit Studios, which publish mobile gaming apps that may appeal to children. These decisions set out the heightened duties for apps that appeal to an audience that includes children under the age of 13, consistent with the FTC Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) regulations. In response to the ASRC's actions, both companies:
    • implemented an age-gating mechanism; and
    • added enhanced notice links in their applications and store listings leading to opt-out instructions.
These decisions demonstrate to mobile app developers and providers that the DAA Principles apply equally to mobile and desktop applications.