TAG launches tool to help keep ads off apps that pirate content

The Trustworthy Accountability Group, a trade organization aimed at keeping fraud and other criminal activity out of digital advertising, has launched a tool to track apps that distribute illegal pirated content, including TV shows, music and movies.

The initiative provides a shared resource for TAG members — which include brands and publishers such as Disney, Warner Bros. and VertaMedia; agencies, including Publicis Groupe and Omnicom; sellers like Google and Facebook; and intermediaries like OpenX and The Trade Desk — to keep so-called pirate apps that violate intellectual property rights out of the advertising supply chain. There are already more than 8,000 apps listed in the resource.

“As user activity has shifted to the mobile world, so have the criminals who exploit it through mobile apps that distribute illegal pirated content and sell advertising against it,” said Mike Zaneis, CEO of TAG. “By sharing information about those illegal apps, TAG helps companies quickly identify and remove them from their supply chains, thus cutting off the flow of money to pirates and intellectual property thieves. As the sole Information Sharing and Analysis Organization for the digital advertising industry, TAG is uniquely positioned to serve in this important anti-piracy role.”

Member companies will be able to integrate the Mobile Pirate App Tool into their own systems to keep ads from running on the apps included on the list. TAG’s Anti-Piracy Working Group developed the tool and has established a set of best practices to help members identify and filter out bad apps from the supply chain.

TAG is the digital advertising industry’s only Sharing and Analysis Organization. Its other resources include a Malware Threat Sharing Hub and Data Center IP List. In December 2016, TAG awarded an initial group of companies the “Certified Against Fraud” seal. The group was formed by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As), the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).