Yahoo becomes first DSP to implement IAB Tech Lab data transparency labels

In a significant move for digital advertising transparency, Yahoo announced today it has become the first Demand Side Platform (DSP) to implement IAB Tech Lab's Data Transparency Labels. The integration aims to provide advertisers with standardized information about audience segments used in their campaigns.

The announcement comes as digital advertising faces increasing scrutiny over data quality and transparency. According to Anthony Katsur, CEO of IAB Tech Lab, the lack of adoption of these labels since their 2019 release has been "a travesty," given the growing complexity of data governance challenges.

The Data Transparency Labels function similarly to nutrition labels on food products, offering detailed information about how audience segments are constructed. The labels disclose critical details such as data sources, collection methods, refresh frequency, and lookback windows.

Giovanni Gardelli, Vice President of DSP Data Products at Yahoo, emphasized the practical applications of these labels: "For an auto-intender audience, it would make sense to have a lookback window of multiple months, since people usually deliberate for long periods before a new car purchase. Other verticals with shorter consideration cycles, like travel or consumer goods, may want to focus on audiences with shorter lookback windows."

The current state of audience segment shopping provides marketers with only basic descriptions and pricing information. Gardelli compared this limitation to "going to the supermarket, and you can only see the product names and prices when you're trying to fill your cart, but you have no idea about the ingredients, the quantities, the calories, the nutritional values."

IAB Tech Lab's standardized labels contain up to 20 disclosure fields, developed through a two-year collaboration between marketing and media trade groups. The labels provide essential information about:

• Data origin and collection methods
• Audience segment size and composition
• Data refresh frequency
• Geographic coverage
• Segmentation criteria
• ID types used for activation

Yahoo DSP plans to make these labels accessible within its interface in early 2025. The company is currently working with its data partners, including third-party data brokers, DMPs, and SSPs, to facilitate adoption of the labels, with significant progress expected by the end of the quarter.

The implementation builds upon Yahoo's recent curation initiatives, including new supply intelligence partnerships. According to IAB Tech Lab, having a major DSP like Yahoo adopt these labels could accelerate broader industry adoption, potentially addressing long-standing challenges in data quality assessment and regulatory compliance.

YThe labels are particularly relevant as regulators worldwide emphasize privacy compliance through data minimization. The standardized information helps advertisers and their partners make informed decisions about data retention, processing requirements, and whether specific data should be processed at all.

IAB Tech Lab maintains a compliance program for organizations offering data, whether syndicated separately or bundled with media. The program includes annual business audits to verify that companies have the necessary systems and processes to maintain consistent label completion at scale.