Privacy. Identity. Data Security. Popular convention would have us believe that we can’t have it all, especially as third-party cookies head for the dustbin of internet history.
The adtech industry’s attempts to find a solve for all three have resulted in a fast-growing ecosystem of alternative IDs that mask underlying, highly-personal data — e.g., an email address, a device fingerprint — all of which are far more personal and persistent than the cookie ever was. Identity is still flowing through the bidstream, enriching the middlemen at the expense of publishers and advertisers, and making it near-impossible for consumers who once opted in to change their minds—their data has already fed the algorithms. There is no undo.
What we can do is learn from our mistakes and start afresh. Because if we want to get to that holy grail of a middle ground within privacy, identity, and security, we’re going to have to blow (some) things up. We’re going to have to let go of the foundational architecture we’ve all clung to for so long so that advertisers can target real people (since bots don’t convert), publishers can monetize, and consumers (the genuine, human ones) can rest easy knowing that their privacy is respected and their data is secure.
Watch the video for a lively debate on how we can reorg the ad tech ecosystem so that finally everyone—advertisers, publishers, and consumers alike—wins.
Panelists:
- Paul Bannister, Chief Strategy Officer, RAPTIVE
- David Dworin, Chief Product Officer, FREEWHEEL
- David Kohl, President & CEO, TRUSTX
- Kristine Lopez, Head of Media Security Product, HUMAN
