Pixalate’s Children’s Privacy Index for Sellers helps the ad tech industry navigate compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
LONDON, March 22, 2023 -- Pixalate, the global market-leading fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics platform for Connected TV (CTV) and Mobile Advertising, released the February 2023 Children’s Privacy Index for Mobile Advertising Sellers.
The monthly index benchmarks Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) based on the percentage of ads they sell that are on apps likely child-directed, as assessed by Pixalate’s Mobile COPPA Compliance Tools Methodology.
February’s Key Takeaways
According to Pixalate’s Q3 2022 COPPA Risk Scorecard Report: Google Vs. Apple there are ~420K likely child-directed mobile apps across the Google & Apple mobile app stores, which is approximately 8% of all apps across both stores. These apps can pose a COPPA compliance risk to advertising buyers and sellers, and awareness of which apps are child-directed is an important step in mitigating compliance risks.
Visit Pixalate’s Knowledge Base for more information about the Children’s Privacy Index for Mobile Advertising.
What is COPPA - and why it matters for advertisers
For nearly 25 years, the privacy of children online in the U.S. has been governed by COPPA and its implementing Rule, which has come under scrutiny as regulators aim to address its application in today’s complex advertising ecosystem.
COPPA bars the collection of data from children under 13 without verified parental consent. Advertisers, ad buyers, and sellers are at risk of collecting childrens’ personal data from apps not clearly labeled as child-directed in the app stores. As the gatekeepers of the mobile app stores, Google & Apple are well positioned to provide clarity yet they do not require developers of apps targeting children under 13 to identify as such nor do they prominently feature that information in the app stores. Doing so would not only help parents protect their children online, but would also enable ad tech companies in complying with COPPA.
About Pixalate
Pixalate is the market-leading fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics platform for Connected TV (CTV) and Mobile Advertising. Pixalate offers the only system of coordinated solutions across display, app, video, and CTV for better detection and elimination of ad fraud. Pixalate's marketing compliance solutions encompass the industry's first COPPA Compliance Technology, designed to identify likely child-directed apps and potential compliance risks. Pixalate is an MRC-accredited service for the detection and filtration of sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) across desktop and mobile web, mobile in-app, and CTV advertising. www.pixalate.com
Disclaimer
The content of this press release, and the Children’s Privacy Index for Mobile Advertising, reflects Pixalate's opinions with respect to factors that Pixalate believes may be useful to the digital media industry. It is important to note, however, that a seller’s rating on the Children's Privacy Index for Mobile Advertising does not mean that the seller is failing to comply with COPPA. Further, with respect to apps that appear to be child-directed and have characteristics that, in Pixalate’s opinion, may trigger related privacy obligations and/or risk, such assertions reflect Pixalate’s opinions (i.e., they are neither facts nor guarantees); and, although Pixalate’s methodologies used to render such opinions are derived from automated processing and at times coupled with human intervention, no assurances can be – or are – given by Pixalate with respect to the accuracy of any such opinions. Neither this press release nor the Children’s Privacy Index for Mobile Advertising are intended to impugn the standing or reputation of any entity, person or app, but instead, to report findings and apparent trends.
