Episode 74: The Attribution Cartel: Why “Privacy-Safe” is NOT what it’s made up to be

Don Marti joins Alan Chapell to unpack the hidden risks behind the push for industry standards for “privacy-safe”  ad attribution, the myth of privacy-preserving tech, and how big platforms may be reshaping the future of digital advertising.

The Chapell Regulatory Insider is at https://chapellreport.substack.com/

Don Marti may be found at: https://aloodo.com/

See Don Marti’s recent AdExchanger piece at https://www.adexchanger.com/data-driven-thinking/what-happens-when-the-attribution-cartel-meets-advertisings-halo-effect/

Additional discussion re: the problems with PETs for advertising

https://privacy-daily.com/news/2025/06/10/PrivacyEnhancing-Technologies-Are-Not-a-Silver-Bullet-PEPR-Told-2506100010

https://rjionline.org/news/the-traffic-and-revenue-crisis-for-news-is-a-symptom-of-big-techs-economy-wide-trust-collapse/

https://rjionline.org/news/big-tech-is-squeezing-advertising-jobs-and-companies/

https://rjionline.org/news/big-techs-economic-takeover-can-be-beat/

https://rjionline.org/news/big-tech-runs-counter-to-journalism-values-so-why-is-the-news-industry-helping-tech-take-over/

Takeaways

Privacy-focused users are often the most valuable customers, challenging traditional ad tech assumptions about measurability.