Opens up platform to regulators and ad tech companies to show which apps are transmitting user data; New technology, based on FTC COPPA rule, blends artificial intelligence and teacher-based manual reviews of 5MM+ apps
Pixalate, the market-leading fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics platform for Connected TV (CTV) and Mobile Advertising, today released the industry’s first COPPA compliance toolkit for 5MM+ mobile apps across the Apple and Google app stores. Pixalate’s hybrid AI-based technology automates the child-directed assessment of all of the apps available in the Apple App and Google Play stores and is the first publicly available index designed to aid advertisers, regulators, parents, researchers and the ad tech community in guarding children’s online privacy and remaining COPPA compliant.
Pixalate has also formed a Trust and Safety Advisory Board, helmed by a former FTC enforcer, Allison Lefrak, composed of qualified educators, to review and assess whether apps are child-directed through the lens of the COPPA Rule on an ongoing basis.
“Google and Apple do not require all app developers to identify whether they are child-directed as a condition of being featured in their app stores. While they require content ratings for all apps, these ratings do not tell the public whether the app is targeting children under 13 as a portion of the audience. This is critical information, not only for parents, but for ad tech companies seeking to comply with COPPA,” said Pixalate’s SVP of Public Policy, Ads Privacy and COPPA Compliance, Allison Lefrak. “Pixalate has stepped in to solve this complex problem with its automated assessment of the likely target audience of apps.”
Pixalate is committed to helping ad tech understand hidden children’s privacy compliance risks across mobile apps. Opening up this data reveals the extent of likely child-directed inventory across the mobile app ecosystem – the first public source to assist children’s privacy advocates, regulators, and the advertising industry.
“The FTC’s recent settlement with an ad exchange has underscored the need for ad techs companies to take a hard look at their COPPA compliance obligations,” said Jalal Nasir, CEO of Pixalate. “The ad industry can now search for child-directed apps for free to assess their potential exposure to COPPA compliance risk in the mobile ad supply chain.”
Pixalate’s free COPPA Audience Assessment reveals the likely target audience of 5MM+ Apple and Google Play store apps based on Pixalate’s Methodology developed in collaboration with a former FTC regulator. In Q1 2022, Pixalate found:
Pixalate’s COPPA Audience Assessment helps advertisers and ad tech companies assess their COPPA readiness with tools & features that power compliance risk management at scale:
Regulatory-first methodology developed to address COPPA compliance challenges within the ad tech ecosystem & strengthen protection against regulatory consequencesFor more information about Pixalate’s COPPA Audience Assessment methodology, please visit our website.
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Disclaimer: The content of this page reflects Pixalate’s opinions with respect to the factors that Pixalate believes can be useful to the digital media industry. Any proprietary data shared is grounded in Pixalate’s proprietary technology and analytics, which Pixalate is continuously evaluating and updating. Any references to outside sources should not be construed as endorsements. Pixalate’s opinions are just that - opinion, not facts or guarantees.
Per the MRC, “'Fraud' is not intended to represent fraud as defined in various laws, statutes and ordinances or as conventionally used in U.S. Court or other legal proceedings, but rather a custom definition strictly for advertising measurement purposes. Also per the MRC, “‘Invalid Traffic’ is defined generally as traffic that does not meet certain ad serving quality or completeness criteria, or otherwise does not represent legitimate ad traffic that should be included in measurement counts. Among the reasons why ad traffic may be deemed invalid is it is a result of non-human traffic (spiders, bots, etc.), or activity designed to produce fraudulent traffic.”
