A Critical Assessment of Blockchain’s Application in Digital Advertising

Abstract

Many individuals are unaware of the complex behind the scenes processes which facilitate the delivery of digital advertisements on web pages. One such process, known as Real-Time Bidding, involves an automated auction between advertisers, executed in the time that it takes for a user to load a web page. The Real-Time Bidding supply chain is opaque, and involves a multitude of intermediaries, causing significant issues for users, advertisers, and publishers. This thesis assesses the extent to which blockchain technology is able to help alleviate these issues caused by Real-Time Bidding. It does so predominantly through the lens of a solution by Brave Software, which combines a privacy-friendly browser with a new blockchain-based utility token. The thesis focuses on the privacy rights of users, and references a 2019 study by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office which exposed widespread violations by Real-Time Bidding participants of the EU General Data Protection Regulation, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations that implement the EU e-Privacy Directive in the UK. The thesis finds that, as evidenced by the Brave Software solution, it is possible for blockchain to help cure the harms associated with Real-Time Bidding for advertisers, publishers, and users. That said, the adequate protection of users’ privacy rights appears to also depend on the employment of additional technologies alongside the blockchain. The thesis reaches further conclusions regarding the risks of profiling by targeted advertising algorithms such as that employed by Brave Software, and the barriers to fully decentralised blockchain solutions in the digital advertising context.

Keywords: Blockchain, Digital Advertising, Online Advertising, Real-Time Bidding ('RTB'), GDPR, e-Privacy Directive, PECR, Privacy, Data Protection, Utility Token, Brave Software