Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada Releases Response to Advertising Standards Canada's AdChoices Accountability Program 2015 Compliance Report

TORONTO, Dec. 16, 2015 /CNW/ - Today, Advertising Standards Canada (ASC) released the AdChoices Accountability Program: 2015 Compliance Report. This report highlights how companies participating in the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (DAAC)'s AdChoices program for online interest-based advertising (IBA) have implemented the program's principles throughout 2015. As Canada's national advertising industry self-regulatory body, ASC's compliance efforts are independent from the DAAC.

The DAAC was pleased to see strong overall compliance to many of the major components of the AdChoices program. The report finds that a majority of website operators (72%) employed the AdChoices icon to communicate their use of IBA. ASC's report also highlights some facets of the program that still require participant action, including above the fold notification and declaring participation in the Canadian AdChoices program.

The report also covered ASC's experiences with consumer complaint handling. Only a small percentage (17%) of complaints were determined to raise potential IBA concerns, while the majority of consumers thought that after opting out of IBA, they would not receive any ads at all.

"Educating Canadian consumers about the benefits program and IBA more generally is one of our priorities," said Julie Ford, Executive Director of the DAAC, "ASC's report comes at a perfect time – communications about the program are increasing through the DAAC's efforts, and to have such a substantive document to point to and for participants to reference is exceptionally helpful. We thank ASC for this important compliance work."

Wally Hill, Chair of the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada's Board of Directors, stated that, "ASC is an invaluable partner. The release of their report is a major step forward for the program. We've come a long way, and while the program continues to grow and mature, the ASC report shows that the participants are responsive to ASC's guidance and requests, and are committed to compliance with the AdChoices principles."

About the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada

The Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (DAAC) is a consortium of the leading national advertising and marketing associations whose members share commitment to delivering a robust and credible program for responsible online interest-based advertising (IBA).

The Canadian AdChoices program was developed by the DAAC and designed to educate consumers about IBA and provide mechanisms for consumers to know when IBA is occurring and the ability to control whether or not they choose to permit the collection and use of their browsing data for IBA purposes. Companies may reference the DAAC's AdChoices Principles and learn more at YourAdChoices.ca.

SOURCE Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada

For further information: Questions about the AdChoices program may be directed to [e-mail].