NYC — Yesterday, Check My Ads Institute (CMAI) filed a complaint with the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) regarding multiple TAG-certified vendors for non-compliance with TAG’s brand safety standards. This filing follows recent reports exposing ad tech vendors monetizing Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and piracy. The complaint also includes a broader set of inquiries into TAG’s standard-setting activities, enforcement practices, and antitrust policy.
“Certification without enforcement is a scourge on the industry that undermines trust and cuts against TAG’s very mission, particularly as a 501(c)(6) tax-exempt entity,” said Arielle Garcia, Chief Operating Officer of Check My Ads Institute.
Key Highlights in the Complaint:
- Advertising on CSAM-Hosting Websites – TAG-certified vendors, including major ad tech firms, were found serving ads on platforms that have been known to host CSAM since 2021.
- Monetization of Adult, Explicit, and Pirated Content – Vendors placed ads on pages containing explicit adult content, piracy, and other brand-unsafe material, directly violating TAG’s brand safety standards.
- Lack of Transparency and Accountability – Advertisers reported being unable to access page URL-level data from verification firms, preventing them from ensuring brand safety compliance.
The complaint echoes concerns raised by Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal, who sent letters on Friday to the CEOs of four adtech companies and two industry standards bodies demanding accountability for transacting advertising on a CSAM-hosting website.
This morning, Check My Ads Institute made its complaint to TAG public, emphasizing that industry discussions with broad implications must happen in full transparency. CMAI is urging TAG to take decisive action, including suspending the certification of non-compliant vendors for at least six months and conducting independent audits with publicly disclosed results.
“We hope that Mike Zaneis, President and CEO of TAG, agrees that these issues warrant immediate and meaningful action,” Garcia added. “We are sharing our letter publicly because we believe that conversations that impact the digital ad industry and public at large should happen in broad daylight, and be open to all. Where industry-certified vendors for years have transacted ads on CSAM, treasury sanctioned websites, piracy, and animal abuse, we are all “interested parties.”
For more information, visit www.checkmyads.org or contact [email protected].
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About Check My Ads Institute
Check My Ads Institute, the digital advertising watchdog, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit established in 2021 to build a better internet business model for advertisers, publishers and people. We shine a light on the opaque global advertising technology industry, which has enabled systemic manipulation and fraud, through unfettered access to its vast infrastructure: ads, advertiser budgets and our own intimate personal information. The unregulated transfer of power takes place largely outside the view of advertisers, regulators, and citizens. Check My Ads is pushing for accountability in the digital advertising industry through consumer-informed, free-market solutions and common-sense state, federal, and international regulation. We believe that advertisers and the public deserve transparency and choice.