The IAB is putting together a working group to update industry contracts

Brace yourself for unparalleled and unbridled excitement: The advertising industry is joining forces to collaborate on updating the standard terms and conditions (T&C) for internet advertising, or, good ol’ fashioned contracts.

Last week, the IAB announced that it, along with the 4A’s and the ANA, would work together to update the standard contract frameworks the advertising industry uses. These aren’t the same consumer-facing T&Cs many consumers scroll past and sign without reading, but rather the agreements made between ad buyers and sellers.

The current standard T&C frameworks, which were last meaningfully updated more than a decade ago and received an addendum for digital video in 2018, are only intended for buyers and sellers—meaning mostly media buyers, agencies, and publishers doing direct deals. New versions could include language relevant to social media platforms, adtech platforms like DSPs and SSPs, audio and verification vendors, as well as updated terminology around editorial adjacency and viewability standards, Angelina Eng, IAB’s VP of measurement, addressability, and data center, told Marketing Brew.

“Everything is on the table,” Eng said.

Dry as this may sound, the update is intended to help speed along negotiations and payment timelines between buyers, sellers, and platforms, Eng said. It may also help spell out compliance requirements for existing privacy regulations, like COPPA and HIPPA, and codify limitations and expectations for advertisers.

Though many companies have their own contracts and presumably their own lawyers, industrywide consistency “reduces friction,” Eng said. “This would make everyone’s job easier.”—RB