Yes the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) and MRC (media ratings council) and 4A's (American Association of Advertising Agencies) all have various "standards" and certifications. There are similar groups in Europe and smaller orgs that focus on niche areas.
Unfortunately for the most part these groups all charge lots of money for a nice seal you can put on your site, without any real checking of a business. Some of the most offending and insecure networks are members of the IAB. [1] Not to mention this has no bearing on actual technical implementations. The MRC does audits of companies to certify them for measuring viewability but there can be 50% or more discrepancy[2] between vendors which ultimately makes the entire thing pointless. And buyers also don't care, they have their own "favorite" vendors they want to work with so they're not even interchangeable.
The adblock plus company in Germany (while I dont agree with their entire stance) has an "acceptable ads" standard that at least lays out something in terms of user experience. However they accept money for whitelisting which is why all those crummy clickbait widgets like outbrain/taboola still show up through the default ABP filters.
What I want to see is actual legal regulation that covers how a business deals with data/privacy and then some kind of technical certification led by a real tech-savvy company to vet ad networks and their implementations. However this industry is full of political motives and other shady dealings so it takes a herculean effort to do anything... Maybe with some consumer backing there might be changes given the wide usage of adblock today but (not) surprisingly most digital ad execs see it as some kind of plague rather than the direct consequences of industry actions. That's not a very cooperative attitude for enacting change.
Unfortunately for the most part these groups all charge lots of money for a nice seal you can put on your site, without any real checking of a business. Some of the most offending and insecure networks are members of the IAB. [1] Not to mention this has no bearing on actual technical implementations. The MRC does audits of companies to certify them for measuring viewability but there can be 50% or more discrepancy[2] between vendors which ultimately makes the entire thing pointless. And buyers also don't care, they have their own "favorite" vendors they want to work with so they're not even interchangeable.
The adblock plus company in Germany (while I dont agree with their entire stance) has an "acceptable ads" standard that at least lays out something in terms of user experience. However they accept money for whitelisting which is why all those crummy clickbait widgets like outbrain/taboola still show up through the default ABP filters.
What I want to see is actual legal regulation that covers how a business deals with data/privacy and then some kind of technical certification led by a real tech-savvy company to vet ad networks and their implementations. However this industry is full of political motives and other shady dealings so it takes a herculean effort to do anything... Maybe with some consumer backing there might be changes given the wide usage of adblock today but (not) surprisingly most digital ad execs see it as some kind of plague rather than the direct consequences of industry actions. That's not a very cooperative attitude for enacting change.
[1] http://www.iab.net/member_center/1521/1534 [2] http://adexchanger.com/data-driven-thinking/viewability-lets...