Facebook’s Transparency Troubles

After admitting last week that they have been inflating their video metrics, it is not really all that surprising that this week is seeing a call for more transparency into Facebook and a full audit of its metrics.

That call is coming most prominently, at this point, from the Association of National Advertisers — a trade group — and it is asking for an accreditation for Facebook on top of said audit.

Facebook admitted last week that it has been giving marketers an inflated number for the average time consumers spent viewing online clips by counting as “viewed” any video that had been watched for more than 3 seconds.

“While ANA recognizes that ‘mistakes do happen,’ we also recognize that Facebook has not yet achieved the level of measurement transparency that marketers need and require,” Bob Liodice, the group’s president and CEO, writes in a blog post.

The ANA further notes that given the tremendous sums of money going to the social network from advertisers, Facebook should have its metrics accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC), the industry group that creates the standards that advertisers buy media against. That request is in line with the desires of many marketers, to be sure — a recent study indicates that a commanding 97 percent feel their ad inventory should be measured by a third party. The same study also indicates that 65 percent “very strongly feel” that digital media owners should have their metrics accredited by the rating council.

“ANA believes that these are the ‘table stakes’ for digital advertising,” Liodice writes.

Facebook has responded to the metrics issue by affirming that “trust and transparency” are “paramount” to its business.

“We are currently in dialogue with the ANA about how we can work more closely together,” a spokeswoman says. “Our focus has always been on driving business results for our clients, and we strongly believe in third-party verification. We have a history of working with industry leaders, including Nielsen, Moat, and comScore, and we continue to explore more partnerships.”