Bill Overview
Title: Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act
Description: This bill limits certain large digital advertising companies from owning multiple types of advertising exchanges or brokerages and imposes certain duties with respect to the interests of the customers of such brokerages. Advertising exchanges and brokerages generally facilitate advertisers and publishers in buying and selling advertising inventory through an automated bidding process. Specifically, companies with more than $20 billion in annual digital advertising revenue are prohibited from owning more than one type of service within the digital advertising marketplace. For example, a company, such as Google, may not own a digital advertising exchange and provide software that assists publishers of online advertisements in selling advertising space on their websites. Additionally, companies with more than $5 billion in annual digital advertising revenue that provide brokerage services to buyers or sellers of digital advertisements must act in the best interest of their brokerage customers. The bill also establishes transparency and privacy requirements for such brokerages. The bill provides for enforcement of these requirements by the Department of Justice, state attorneys general, and private right of action.
Sponsors: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT]
Target Audience
Population: People impacted by changes in the digital advertising industry and ecosystem
Estimated Size: 250000000
- The bill affects companies within the digital advertising industry, particularly those with significant annual revenues from digital advertising, such as Google, Meta, and others with similar earnings.
- By imposing restrictions on ownership structures within the digital advertising marketplace, it could impact the way these companies operate and their profitability, potentially affecting shareholders and employees.
- Customers of digital advertising services, including both advertisers and publishers, may benefit from increased competition and transparency in pricing, which could lead to lower costs and more choices.
- Consumers at large could experience changes in the digital advertising they receive due to changes in how advertisements are served and selected as a result of increased competition among ad service providers.
Reasoning
- The bill primarily affects large digital advertising companies, such as Google or Meta, that have significant annual digital advertising revenue. By restricting these companies to own only one type of service within the digital advertising marketplace, it may lead to increased competition among smaller digital advertising companies.
- The impact on companies could lead to changes in how digital advertising is delivered, potentially affecting consumers who engage with digital content regularly, as well as digital marketing professionals who work in these ecosystems.
- Some small business owners could benefit from the bill due to potential cost reductions in advertising.
- Consumers could experience changes in the types of digital advertisements they encounter, possibly benefiting from increased transparency and privacy measures.
- The policy is broad and impacts a very large number of people indirectly through the actions of companies who adjust their practices to comply with new regulations.
Simulated Interviews
Digital Marketing Specialist (San Francisco, CA)
Age: 35 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 3.0 years
Commonness: 4/20
Statement of Opinion:
- The policy seems like it could shake up the advertising industry, which might be good for pricing.
- I'm worried about how these changes will affect my work routines.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 6 |
Small Business Owner (New York, NY)
Age: 28 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 5.0 years
Commonness: 3/20
Statement of Opinion:
- If this policy leads to lower ad costs, it would be a huge help for my business.
- I'm curious to see how this will change the ad options I currently have.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 5 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 5 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 5 |
IT Security Consultant (Austin, TX)
Age: 50 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 2.0 years
Commonness: 6/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Increased transparency and better privacy practices in digital advertising could benefit my clients and my work.
- I think these changes are largely positive, promoting fair competition.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 5 |
Tech Company Employee (Seattle, WA)
Age: 40 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 8
Duration of Impact: 4.0 years
Commonness: 5/20
Statement of Opinion:
- There might be more internal changes at work due to this policy.
- I am hopeful that the new regulations will improve industry standards.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 9 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 9 | 6 |
Freelance Content Creator (Chicago, IL)
Age: 32 | Gender: other
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 5.0 years
Commonness: 4/20
Statement of Opinion:
- This could level the playing field for smaller creators like myself.
- Worried about changes in partnership terms with big ad companies.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 5 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 20 | 6 | 5 |
Legal Advisor (Boston, MA)
Age: 45 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 8
Duration of Impact: 2.0 years
Commonness: 7/20
Statement of Opinion:
- The bill could create more work opportunities for legal advisors.
- I support more regulation for transparency.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 5 |
Retired (Denver, CO)
Age: 60 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 5
Duration of Impact: 1.0 years
Commonness: 8/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Anything improving digital privacy is good.
- I hope these companies manage to adjust without compromising their services.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Year 10 | 5 | 4 |
| Year 20 | 5 | 4 |
College Student (Miami, FL)
Age: 22 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 0.0 years
Commonness: 9/20
Statement of Opinion:
- The policy sounds like it would make a real-world case study interesting.
- It will be good to see how competition impacts markets.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 7 |
Web Developer (Las Vegas, NV)
Age: 38 | Gender: other
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 4.0 years
Commonness: 5/20
Statement of Opinion:
- The industry needed regulation for transparency.
- I'm hopeful this will lead to better ad integrations.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 6 |
Ad Tech Executive (Los Angeles, CA)
Age: 55 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 8
Duration of Impact: 4.0 years
Commonness: 2/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Our startup could greatly benefit from the competition and impact of this bill.
- There is excitement around the changes but also concerns about execution.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 2 | 9 | 8 |
| Year 3 | 9 | 8 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 6 |
Cost Estimates
Year 1: $300000000 (Low: $250000000, High: $350000000)
Year 2: $300000000 (Low: $250000000, High: $350000000)
Year 3: $250000000 (Low: $200000000, High: $300000000)
Year 5: $250000000 (Low: $200000000, High: $300000000)
Year 10: $200000000 (Low: $150000000, High: $250000000)
Year 100: $0 (Low: $0, High: $0)
Key Considerations
- Potential pushback from large companies in the form of legal challenges or lobbying against the act.
- Effective implementation of transparency and privacy requirements will be critical to the success of the policy.
- Short-term costs may appear significant but need to be weighed against long-term savings and market efficiencies.
- There could be international implications if U.S.-based companies change their operations, impacting global digital advertising dynamics.