The Brand Safety Institute Launches MFA Transparency Utility for Publishers

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Brand Safety Institute (BSI) is proud to announce the launch of an industry-first MFA Transparency Utility for Publishers in partnership with Ad Fontes Media, DeepSee, Integral Ad Science (IAS), Jounce Media, and Pixalate.

Ad-supported publishers have applauded the efforts of the buy side of the industry to identify Made-for-Advertising (a.k.a. Made-for-Arbitrage) sites as a vote of confidence in premium content. But the lack of a clear definition of MFA has created challenges for legitimate publishers that want to ensure their domains are not placed on MFA block lists. 

The no-cost MFA Transparency Utility represents a one-stop shop for ad-supported publishers to understand how companies who supply the industry with MFA block lists evaluate their domains. "This partnership represents a significant step toward reducing information asymmetry in the digital advertising ecosystem," said Neal Thurman, CEO and co-founder of BSI. "The commitment of the partners participating in this initiative represents a win for publishers who want to better understand and make investments based on what ad buyers value."

"The launch of the BSI MFA Transparency Utility is the result of collaboration between the BSI Publisher Council and the 4As in consultation with the IAB, IAB Tech Lab, and the ANA along with the participating vendors. Highlighting the collaboration and its importance to the entire digital advertising ecosystem," said Kevin Freemore, SVP Media, Technology, and Data at the 4As. "It is essential that the industry foster an ecosystem that is equitable for publishers, advertisers and agencies alike, and provide equal access to tools that help them understand how inventory is evaluated. The BSI initiative is a valuable step forward, enabling publishers to gain valuable insights, ultimately enhancing content quality for consumers and creating stronger advertising opportunities for marketers." 

Chris Kane, Founder at Jounce Media, echoed Mr. Freemore's thoughts about the importance of transparency and data symmetry in the digital advertising ecosystem. "Jounce Media is dedicated to providing transparency to quality publishers across the globe, and our partnership with the Brand Safety Institute demonstrates our commitment to ensuring those publishers have an equal opportunity to access the same media quality insights as our advertising customers."

Going forward, BSI, its Publisher Council, and Publisher Council Chairman Scott Cunningham, Initiative Lead for the Local Media Consortium's NewsPassID program, plan to continue adding other signals that media buyers and agencies use to evaluate publisher quality to provide the publishers using the utility with as much information as possible to tailor their approach to better meet the needs of their buy side partners.

Through the beta launch period, a number of top tier publishers have already started using the MFA Transparency Utility. Publishers are welcome to submit an application to see data related to domains they own. BSI also welcomes inquiries from other MFA list providers who may want to add their data to the utility. Interested parties can contact BSI at [email protected]. 

About the Brand Safety Institute
The Brand Safety Institute (BSI) was founded to professionalize and advance the executive capacity needed at every company to protect their brands through research, accreditation, networking, and education. By accrediting Brand Safety Officers and providing them with relevant information, expertise, and connections, the Brand Safety Institute helps foster a community of leaders prepared to safeguard their own brands, those of partners, and the broader digital advertising supply chain.

 For more information on BSI, please visit www.brandsafetyinstitute.com 

Contact:
Andrew Weinstein
202-667-4967
[email protected]

SOURCE The Brand Safety Institute