• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, March 12, 2020

One hundred and twenty-five companies have been awarded recertifications by the Trustworthy Accountability Group, an industry program that aims to combat fraud and other problems that have plagued online advertisers.

TAG, which currently has around 600 members worldwide, offers certification “seals” in three areas -- fraud, piracy and malware -- to member companies that meet the organization's requirements.

The 125 companies that were recertified this year -- including Google, eBay, carat, IPG Mediabrands, GroupM and The Washington Post -- obtained a total of 164 “seals.”

Last year, 100 of TAG's members recertified; those companies obtained a total of 137 seals. Around 10% of those companies are no longer certified due to attrition -- often as a result of mergers -- according to TAG CEO Mike Zaneis.

Companies seeking the seals can self-certify or pay for an audit. Around one-third of the recertifications were awarded via an independent validation process.

TAG membership costs $10,000 a year for larger companies, and is free to small companies with $10 million or less in digital ad revenue.

Currently, around half of TAG's members qualify for the small business membership.