Brief:
- Facebook yesterday notified advertisers, agencies and marketing partners that they'll now need to confirm the nature of their relationships with each other before being allowed to share Facebook data among themselves, per a company blog post. The social network seeks more transparency about how companies share data from the Facebook pixel that helps to track users across the internet.
- Companies that want to share data need to disclose ad partners in Facebook's self-service Ads Manager and explain how they work together. By clicking "I Accept," businesses agree that they have the necessary permissions to use and share Facebook pixel, SDK or offline event data for advertising purposes, the blog post detailed.
- During the first half of 2019, businesses that previously shared pixel, app or offline event data must complete the permissions workflow, Facebook said.
Insight:
Facebook's requirement to disclose data sharing among its advertisers comes as the social network faces greater scrutiny from lawmakers, regulators and users about the way user data are shared with third parties. Facebook has had several high-profile incidents this year related to its data-collection and sharing procedures. The company this year suffered the worst data breach in its history, admitted that a political advertising firm working for the Trump campaign had misused the data of 87 million people and was blamed for its role in spreading false rumors that led to deadly violence in several countries.
The new requirements follow a similar announcement in June, when Facebook said businesses using Custom Audiences needed to identify where the audience information originated, such as from their own first-party lists, a third-party provider or combination of both, AdExchanger reported. Facebook warned marketers of "more regular, detailed reminders of their obligation to help protect people's privacy before they run their ads," according to a June blog post.
Advertisers that don't disclose their relationships won't be allowed to use the service or share data through Facebook, as the social network seeks to monitor data-sharing on its platform and perhaps make ad partners more responsible and accountable.
As Facebook works to ensure greater transparency about data-sharing, it's also taken aim at clickbait, spam and exaggerated content as part of improving its advertising ecosystem. While ad spending on Facebook has mostly bounced back after slumping after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, advertising ROI has yet to recover, a C3 Metrics analysis found. Addressing issues with News Feed ads and beefing up the ad offerings in Stories will be key as Facebook this week announced that revenue growth has hit a six-year low.