IAB Tech Lab Announces Delay In Assuming Administrator Role for Unified ID 2.0

Despite expressing interest in acting as an administrator for Unified ID 2.0 earlier this year, the IAB Tech Lab has yet to commit to the open-source project to replace third-party cookies with email-based IDs.

A vote on the subject was delayed for additional consideration at a Tech Lab board meeting recently. 

What are the bottlenecks here? 

Well, to begin with, one difficulty is that the Tech Lab does not feel comfortable taking on the position of admin as stated in The Trade Desk’s technical standards for Unified ID 2.0. 

The administrator’s major responsibility is to regulate access to the UID2 network of stakeholders and to maintain a consolidated database. This entails giving UID2 operators encryption keys, issuing compliant members decryption keys, authorizing UID2 opt-out requests to operators and DSPs, and assessing participants for compliance.

Bad actors who abuse the ID must also be turned off by the administrator.

The IAB Tech Lab board is concerned about the last section, which involves yanking the plug if a partner violates UID2’s code of conduct. A spokesperson informed – 

“Tech Lab assuming the administrator role for Unified ID 2.0 is being actively explored, but no decision has been made. We will provide an update when we have something to share with the industry.”

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