Speaker: Sergei Chetsov, Stanford University
Title: Syndicators as Attestors of Premium Clicks
Abstract:
Jakobsson et al. propose to add to the traditional model of internet
advertisement- which consists of advertisers, syndicators, publishers, and
clients- a new entity called attestors. Via coupons, attestors authenticate
premium clients, who are of higher value to advertisers than regular
clients. We discuss the possibility of syndicators acting as attestors in
collaboration with advertisers and/or clients, driven by common interest in
combating click fraud and benefits from a large network of premium clients.
As paying end customers, advertisers are in the best position to certify legitimate clients. Usually, an internet advertiser is interested in certain client's actions on the advertising website, such as purchasing online products, filling out a form, emailing links to friends, gathering information about the company (brand recognition), and others. We recommend that an advertiser plays a significant role in authenticating premium clicks, however because of competition with others in the line of business, we must safeguard the system against potential abuse.
We suggest that an advertiser knows a client only through a temporary ID (tempID) which is issued by a syndicator for a short period of time and essentially guarantees full anonymity. After registering a click from a new client, a syndicator redirects her to a web page of the advertiser via a URL that has the embedded tempID. If a client acts in a legitimate way, the advertiser sends to the syndicator a response tuple R= (tempID, advertiserID, otherInfo), where otherInfo is collected empirically (for instance, additional information could contain a parameter for secondary grouping of premium clients into subcategories). Only then does a syndicator create a secret permanent ID for the premium client and issues her a coupon. If the premium client clicks on another ad, her coupon is released by the syndicator, the click is registered as premium, a tempID is generated for the session, and the client is redirected to the advertiser as described above. If the advertiser flags the client as legitimate again, the syndicator can further elevate the status of the premium client.
Our scheme discourages abuse from advertisers on two levels. First, if complaints have been filed, a syndicator can exhibit the saved IDs of the advertisers who designated premium clients as legitimate as forensic evidence. Second, tempIDs deter advertisers from wrongfully certifying legitimate clients, because they can not filter premium clicks on their ads without jeopardizing the advertisement campaign.
Autonomously, we outline how a syndicator can establish a network of representative premium clients whose actions on the internet are officially recorded. This concept is similar to Nielsen TV ratings. A potential premium client is selected based on the available personal information. If approved, a syndicator gives the client access to a secure premium account that keeps track of her activities. When the client logs out, her privacy must be respected. The syndicator rewards the premium client for her temporary loss of privacy in a way that minimizes the potential for abuse- for instance, by making a flat monthly payment, or by filtering unwelcome advertisements as a service. Insights from the experience with TV ratings (such as ?sweeps?) can also be adapted.