   We messed up. As technologists, tasked with delivering content and
   services to users, we lost track of the user experience.

   Twenty years ago we saw an explosion of websites, built by developers
   around the world, providing all forms of content. This was the beginning
   of an age of enlightenment, the intersection of content and technology.
   Many of us in the technical field felt compelled, and even empowered, to
   produce information as the distribution means for mass communication were
   no longer restricted by a high barrier to entry.

   In 2000, the dark ages came when the dot-com bubble burst. We were told
   that our startups were gone or that our divisions sustained by corporate
   parent companies needed to be in the black. It was a wakeup call that led
   to a renaissance age. Digital advertising became the foundation of an
   economic engine that, still now, sustains the free and democratic World
   Wide Web. In digital publishing, we strived to balance content, commerce,
   and technology. The content management systems and communication gateways
   we built to inform and entertain populations around the world disrupted
   markets and in some cases governments, informed communities of imminent
   danger, and liberated new forms of art and entertainment—all while
   creating a digital middle class of small businesses.

   We engineered not just the technical, but also the social and economic
   foundation that users around the world came to lean on for access to real
   time information. And users came to expect this information whenever and
   wherever they needed it. And more often than not, for anybody with a
   connected device, it was free.

   This was choice—powered by digital advertising—and premised on user
   experience.

   But we messed up.

   Through our pursuit of further automation and maximization of margins
   during the industrial age of media technology, we built advertising
   technology to optimize publishers’ yield of marketing budgets that had
   eroded after the last recession. Looking back now, our scraping of dimes
   may have cost us dollars in consumer loyalty. The fast, scalable systems
   of targeting users with ever-heftier advertisements have slowed down the
   public internet and drained more than a few batteries. We were so clever
   and so good at it that we over-engineered the capabilities of the plumbing
   laid down by, well, ourselves. This steamrolled the users, depleted their
   devices, and tried their patience.

   The rise of ad blocking poses a threat to the internet and could
   potentially drive users to an enclosed platform world dominated by a few
   companies. We have let the fine equilibrium of content, commerce, and
   technology get out of balance in the open web. We had, and still do have,
   a responsibility to educate the business side, and in some cases to push
   back. We lost sight of our social and ethical responsibility to provide a
   safe, usable experience for anyone and everyone wanting to consume the
   content of their choice.

   We need to bring that back into alignment, starting right now.

   Getting LEAN with Digital Ad UXToday, the IAB Tech Lab is launching the
   L.E.A.N. Ads program. Supported by the Executive Committee of the IAB Tech
   Lab Board, IABs around the world, and hundreds of member companies,
   L.E.A.N. stands for Light, Encrypted, Ad choice supported, Non-invasive
   ads. These are principles that will help guide the next phases of
   advertising technical standards for the global digital advertising supply
   chain.

   As with any other industry, standards should be created by non-profit
   standards-setting bodies, with many diverse voices providing input. We
   will invite all parties for public comment, and make sure consumer
   interest groups have the opportunity to provide input.

   L.E.A.N. Ads do not replace the current advertising standards many
   consumers still enjoy and engage with while consuming content on our sites
   across all IP enabled devices. Rather, these principles will guide an
   alternative set of standards that provide choice for marketers, content
   providers, and consumers.

   Among the many areas of concentration, we must also address frequency
   capping on retargeting in Ad Tech and make sure a user is targeted
   appropriately before, but never AFTER they make a purchase. If we are so
   good at reach and scale, we can be just as good, if not better, at
   moderation. Additionally, we must address volume of ads per page as well
   as continue on the path to viewability. The dependencies here are critical
   to an optimized user experience.

   The consumer is demanding these actions, challenging us to do better, and
   we must respond.

   The IAB Tech Lab will continue to provide the tools for publishers in the
   digital supply chain to have a dialogue with users about their choices so
   that content providers can generate revenue while creating value.
   Publishers should have the opportunity to provide rich advertising
   experiences, L.E.A.N. advertising experiences, and subscription services.
   Or publishers can simply deny their service to users who choose to keep on
   blocking ads. That is all part of elasticity of consumer tolerance and
   choice.

   Finally, we must do this in an increasingly fragmented market, across
   screens. We must do this in environments where entire sites are blocked,
   purposefully or not. Yes, it is disappointing that our development efforts
   will have to manage with multiple frameworks while we work to supply the
   economic engine to sustain an open internet. However, our goal is still to
   provide diverse content and voices to as many connected users as possible
   around the world.

   That is user experience.

   IAB Tech Lab Members can join the IAB Tech Lab Ad Blocking Working Group,
   please email adblocking@iab.com for more information.

   Read more about ad blocking here.

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    About the author

   Scott Cunningham

   Senior Vice President of Technology and Ad Operations at IAB, and General
   Manager of the IAB Tech Lab
