Fraudlogix released a report this week that finds 12 percent of global digital ad traffic to be fraudulent with the US and UK having even higher percentages. The report also finds that desktop ad traffic is much riskier than mobile. (Fraudlogix)
In a letter sent this week to the Federal Trade Commission, Sen. Mark Warner warned of the growing danger of digital advertising fraud and what he says is the inattention and "willful blindness" of Google and other major players to fraudulent and criminal activity. (BuzzFeed News)
Fraudlogix released a new report that finds 14% of North American digital ad traffic to be fraudulent – the highest percentage among four major global regions. Eight percent of Asia Pacific (APAC), nine percent of Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) and 12 percent of Latin America (LATAM) digital ad traffic was determined to be fraudulent. (Adotas)
Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners is exploring a sale of Mediaocean with an estimated price of more than $1.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported this week. Vista acquired Mediaocean in August 2015 at a $720 million valuation. (AdExchanger)
DataXu is exploring a potential sale, according to people familiar with the matter. The Boston-based company—which offers software to help marketers use data to target audiences across the web, apps and television—is working with investment bank GCA Advisors LLC on the process, the people said. The ad-tech company is initially seeking a valuation of around $300 million. (The Wall Street Journal)
Spurred by the marketing community's need to better control and understand its tech stack, Gartner issued its first Magic Quadrant for the ad tech space. Google, MediaMath, Adobe, and Adform placed in the Leader category. (AdExchanger)
Fiddling with digital ad auctions is in the spotlight - six ad exchanges committed recently in an open letter to not tip the scales. The latest point of contention: Publishers are trying to look more closely at where tactics like bid stacking are used. But what exactly is bid stacking, and why is it of interest to publishers? Digiday explains. (Digiday)