• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, April 12, 2016

The Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), a self-regulatory organization set up to ensure that third-party digital advertising companies -- ad networks, DSPs, DMPs, trading desks, etc. -- comply with the industry’s “code of conduct” and consumer opt-out methods, released its annual report for 2015 Monday and essentially gave itself an A+ grade.

The report 48-page report, which uses the word “compliance” 175 times, said the NAI reviewed about 5,700 consumer queries and conducted “several investigations of potential material violations,” but found none.

The NAI said its staff did discover that several members’ email links for consumer questions “did not appear to function as intended,” but that the NAI notified those members and each of them “indicated that it was working to fix the issue once the matter was brought to its attention.”

The NAI characterized member compliance issues as caused by “misunderstandings or technical glitches,” which were all resolved before they became “material violations of the code.”

The report said consumer complaints led to only one NAI compliance investigation, which concluded that a “misunderstanding” led consumers to believe NAI member cookies were returning after they had opted out, but that the cookies were in fact “first-party cookies” on their Web sites and were not related to Internet-based advertising.

“In summary, NAI staff determined that consumer communication received by the NAI in 2015, through email, phone, letter or the website that were conducive to resolution had been resolved within a reasonable time frame and any allegations of member non-compliance with the code were non-material,” the report states.