The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) UK has launched a tool to help buyers understand the digital advertising value chain. In particular, the tool – called ‘Transparency FAQs’ – is aimed at addressing the challenges of the so-called ‘tech tax’.

IAB UK members – including Inskin, Integral Ad Science, OpenX, Rubicon Project, Teads, and Unruly, among others – have come together to produce 20 common questions that can be asked of digital advertising businesses. These questions, which cover pricing, placement, and data usage, aim to provide brands and agencies with the right questions to ask in order to better understand company business models and their approach to transparency.

Questions include ‘What is your business model and how do you make money?’, ‘What brand safety measures do you use?’, and ‘Under GPDR, what legal basis are you providing your services under?’.

“The Transparency FAQs is a voluntary initiative that we hope ad tech companies will embrace as they will help buyers understand the landscape more easily,” said Tim Elkington, chief digital officer at IAB UK. “They’re not a silver bullet or cure for issues around transparency, but we think they’re a useful step forward. The answers to the FAQs will enable buyers to compare the policies and attitudes of ad tech companies in the same way that you might use the John Lewis site to compare vacuum cleaners before making a purchase.”