Facebook strives for transparency with Integral Ad Science partnership

Following a string of controversies around inflated metrics, impressions, views, and clicks, Facebook has agreed to open up its walled gardens to Integral Ad Science (IAS), a Media Ratings Council-accredited company.

In a new announcement, the world's largest social network has committed to offering advertisers greater access to measurement and reporting across Facebook, Instagram, and Facebook's Audience Network, including capabilities around video measurement.

When asked about how IAS will address traffic directed towards bots, Niall Hogan, the managing director of IAS in Southeast Asia, stated that IAS will allow advertisers to monitor every impression of their campaigns, adding that "we will be using our big data and user session-based analysis to identify any fraudulent activity across Facebook inventory, and advertisers will be able to access this reporting within the IAS UI or their daily reports."

A key concern among brand marketers with regards to Facebook's measurement has been its definition of what constitutes a view or a click. Whereas 30 seconds of audience attention constitutes a view for TV, on Facebook, it takes only three seconds for the system to register a view.

Hogan said that the "IAS has strived to make digital space safe and transparent". "We believe that each one in the industry has a role to play in realising the full potential of digital," he continued. "This partnership is a step in the right direction, and we at IAS are glad to deepen our relationship with Facebook, Instagram and Facebook Audience Network."