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Senator introduces bill to force digital ad sellers to disclose performance reports
Summary
Senate State Affairs heard Senate Bill 11, which would require digital-ad vendors to supply purchasers with performance details on request; sponsor cited buying 170,000 impressions and receiving only a two-line report and said consumer-protection penalties would apply if vendors withhold requested details.
Senator Doug Okonowitz, a state senator from Legislative District 3, told the Senate State Affairs committee he bought about 170,000 digital ad impressions and received only a two-line spreadsheet that showed the total impressions, not where or when the ads ran. He said that gap left purchasers “flying blind” and proposed Senate Bill 11 to require vendors to furnish performance certifications on request and face consumer-law penalties if they fail to do so.
Okonowitz said the bill is not meant to be intrusive but to “prompt” large companies to provide the data purchasers need to verify delivery. “I paid for this. This is what you got,” he said of the two-line report he received, describing the result as “silly” and a potential route to fraud if sellers cannot or will not show how they delivered inventory.
Committee members asked whether market forces and contract terms could resolve the problem without legislation. Okonowitz replied that some buyers lack expertise to verify delivery and that large companies sometimes ignore single purchasers until compelled by law. He named a national seller as an example of a company that failed to respond to repeated requests for detail.
Some senators pressed for precision in the bill’s reporting requirements and noted that ad platforms may hold detailed proprietary data. Okonowitz said he had met with representatives from Google earlier that morning and planned follow-up discussions to refine language without changing the bill’s intent.
The committee voted to send the bill to the 14th order for possible amendment, which leaves time for technical edits before a public hearing. The vote was by voice and the motion carried.
