Supply Policy
As one of the top independent omnichannel ad exchanges in the world, the Sharethrough Ad Exchange (“Sharethrough”) connects advertisers & publishers by leveraging their unique technology to enhance every impression by rendering a higher-performing banner, video, CTV or native ad that dynamically fits into any placement on any domain, application and other digital asset (collectively, the “Site”).
The following policy (“Policy”) applies to all Supply Partners (“Partner”) using Sharethrough to monetize its, and/or its partners’ inventory on Sites. This Policy sets forth the guidelines all Partners must adhere to.
Sharethrough retains the right to deny at any time any Sites that do not comply with the below guidelines.
1. IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES
A. Sites & Domains
- Traffic from Sites should come from a balance of different sources, with an emphasis on direct traffic;
- Sites submitted to Sharethrough must have a majority of traffic from the US, the UK, Canada and the EMEA;
- The Partner must have ownership of the Sites or permission from the owner to use the Sites;
- Inventory sources cannot be a link farm, content farm, scraper site or any similar type of website;
- Inventory sources must be original content and include transparent references to the operators or owners of the Sites;
- Partners wishing to onboard new domains, must be sellers.json and ads.txt compliant;
- The Sites may not use Sharethrough logos or trademarks, or mention or refer to Sharethrough, in any manner, without Sharethrough’s prior written consent.
B. Placements on Partner Sites
- Sharethrough placements on Partner Sites should be set directly in the ad server and should limit its iFrame depth and passbacks. The iFrame cannot be obscured or altered;
- Sites must have suitable content to ad slot ratio per page. As a reference, ads should not take up more than 30% of a website;
- Ad refresh timeouts should be set to 30 seconds or higher and only refresh when the ad unit is in view. Partner must keep the number, layout or refresh rate on a page the same no matter where the visitor to the Site originates.
C. Inventory Quality
- Sharethrough does not allow adware, toolbar, or other undesirable inventory sources;
- Sites cannot initiate a download or change settings without the end user’s knowledge and consent;
- Partner shall not mask or cloak a Site’s URL or employ other means to obscure the true source of traffic;
- Sites should have little to no Invalid Traffic (“IVT”). Sharethrough has the unequivocal right to use IVT monitoring partners to review inventory for quality and prevent fraudulent traffic;
- Sites shall not simulate or artificially initiate clicks, impressions or conversions or source traffic from forced redirects;
- Partners buying inventory from third party ad networks shall not resell it (arbitrage);
- Partner shall not edit or modify ads.
2. BANNED CONTENT
Sharethrough supports a healthy digital advertising ecosystem and high quality audience experience and therefore, has established policies to promote a safe and positive experience for all users. The content of the Sites must not constitute, facilitate, or promote illegal products, services, or activities.
The examples listed below are a non-exhaustive summary of content that is banned on the Sharethrough Ad Exchange.
Sites that include the following content will not be permitted and will be removed from the Sharethrough Ad Exchange:
✕ Dangerous, Derogatory Hateful Content
- Sites with content that incite hatred against, promote discrimination of, or disparage an individual or group based on their race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, nationality, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or any other characteristic that is associated with systemic discrimination or marginalization;
- Sites with behavior or commentary that incite such hateful acts, including harassment or bullying of an individual or group of individuals or commentary regarding extreme views or positions;
- Sites with content that threaten or advocate for physical or mental harm on oneself or others.
✕ Weapons, Accessories, Explosives & Terrorism
- Sites with content promoting the sale or firearms or ammunition, whether legal or otherwise;
- Sites with content promoting the sale of other weapons such as, lethal or non-lethal weapon and accessories, including guns, imitation guns, taser guns, mace, edged or bladed weapons, explosives, bombs, and bomb making supplies and/or equipment, fireworks, knives, etc.;
- Sites with content offering, facilitating the sale or creation of guns, ammunition, bombs, explosives, hazardous materials, or weapons;
- Sites containing technical or how-to information on guns, bombs, ammunition, or other weapons;
- Sites that are violent, promote or advocate the use of violence or individuals or groups with ties to violence.
- Sites with content promoting terrorism or terrorist groups;
✕ Harmful or Unlawful Activities
- Sites with content with graphic promotion, advocacy and depiction of willful harm or unlawful activity to humans or animals, or demeaning offenses violating human rights;
- Sites with disrespectful or harmful treatment of sensitive social topics (ex. abortion, extreme political views, etc.).
✕ Obscenity, Profanity & Shocking Content
- Sites containing excessive use of profane language or gestures and other repulsive actions with the intent to shock, offend, or insult;
- Sites with content that is likely to shock or scare;
- Sites containing gratuitous portrayals of bodily fluids or waste.
✕ Adult & Explicit Sexual Content
- Sites with content (including photographs, videos and texts) that contain or promote pornographic, adult or highly suggestive content;
- Sites containing explicit or gratuitous depiction of sexual acts, and/or display of genitals, real or animated;
- Sites containing sexually explicit content including, but not limited to, child sexual exploitation content or content featuring non-consensual acts, real or implied;
- Sites with content that promote or facilitate prostitution or escort services.
✕ Online Piracy, Malicious or Unwanted Software
- Sites with content or codes that distribute viruses, worms, malware, spyware, other unsafe downloads, or other contaminants that may be used to access and modify, delete, or damage any data file or other computer program;
- Sites containing spyware, malware, or any software that results in an unexpected or deceptive experience, including links to sites containing these products;
- Sites containing destinations that use phishing techniques to gather information;
- Sites with content promoting black-hat hacking, cracking or warez.
✕ Copyright infringement
- Sites with content that infringe upon copyright, trademark, intellectual property, third parties' right of publicity/privacy, legal rights of others or is contrary to public policy, rights or promote such infringement;
- Sites with content promoting or facilitating illegal file transfer or allowing users to freely download or exchange software including music files, games, movies, and software applications or P2P file-sharing.
✕ Illegal Drugs and Drug Paraphernalia
- Sites promoting the sale of drug paraphernalia;
- Sites promoting the sale and use of illegal drugs, including the abuse of prescription drugs;
- Sites with instructional content about producing, purchasing, or using illegal drugs
✕ Deceptive, False or Misleading Content
- Sites with deceptive, false, or misleading content including fake news, sensationalized and viral content;
- Sites with content promoting products, services, schemes or offers using deceptive or misleading practices, including those meant to scam people out of money or personal information;
- Sites identified as news that do not meet journalistic credibility and transparency minimum criteria corresponding to industry standards;
- Sites for the distribution of falsely obtained passwords, hacking, pyramid schemes, evading the law, fake documents, etc.
✕ Invalid Traffic and Fraud
- Sites with high percentages of non-human traffic or ad fraud
✕ Misinformation and Disinformation
- Sites containing misinformation or disinformation
✕ Misleading Financial Products and Services
- Sites that promote financial products and services that are frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices;
- Sites with content that promote or facilitate investment offers, solicitation of funds, credit repair, trading services, payday loans, loan products, etc.
✕ Unauthorized / Unwarranted Healthcare
- Sites with content that imply or attempt to generate negative self-perception to promote diet, weight loss, or other health related products;
- Unlicensed/unaccredited healthcare practitioners, medical research solicitations and online pharmacies.
✕ Tobacco & Tobacco Accessories
- Sites promoting the sale of tobacco, eCigarette, vaping products or other products that simulate smoking;
- Sites with content related to the sale or use of tobacco related paraphernalia or services that directly facilitate or promote tobacco consumption.
✕ Excessive User Generated Content
- Sites containing live streaming of user generated content; excepting live streaming of sports, concerts and other public events;
- Sites containing video chats or significant unmoderated user generated content.
✕ Free Offers, Sweepstakes & Contests
- Sites that promote free offers, sweepstakes & contests.
3. RESTRICTED CONTENT
Although legal in certain regions, restricted content may be considered prohibited content, depending on the nature of the content and the context in which the restricted content is displayed on the site.
The examples listed below are a non-exhaustive summary.
All Publishers must ensure that they comply with the following guidelines if the inventory they make available via the Sharethrough Ad Exchange contains any of the following restricted content.
Medical, Pharmaceutical, Health & Beauty Products or Services
- Sites with content for pharmaceutical manufacturers, or online pharmacies, are allowed provided they are made available in locations where it is legally permitted;
- Sites with content promoting products that contain prohibited pharmaceuticals and supplements, or dangerous ingredients, or have been subject to any government or regulatory action or warning, etc. are not allowed.
Alcohol & Alcohol Related Content
- Sites promoting the sale of alcoholic beverages, branding and informational content must comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes, guidelines, licenses and approvals, must be made available in locations where the promotion of such sale is permitted, and audiences must be age-gated, as required by applicable law;
- Sites with alcohol-related content cannot target individuals below the legal drinking age; make false claims regarding social, sexual, professional, intellectual, or athletic standing; imply that alcohol consumption provides health or therapeutic benefits; portray excessive drinking favorably; cannot show alcohol consumption associated with the operation of any machinery, including vehicles, etc.
Cannabis, CBD, THC Content
- Sites with content promoting or selling cannabis, CBD, THC or accessories must comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes, guidelines, licenses and approvals, and must be made available in locations where it is allowed and audiences must be age-gated.
Political Content
- Sites with political content must comply with all local legal requirements and regulations;
- Partner must comply with the applicable Digital Advertising Alliance Self-Regulatory Principles (for Application of the DAA Principles of Transparency & Accountability to Political Advertising).
Gambling & Games
- Sites promoting gambling or games content must follow all legal requirements and industry standards; Sites must be made available in locations where it is permitted, be age-gated and provide required disclaimers regarding responsible gambling.
4. CONTENT FOR CHILDREN
Partner will not include or launch any Sites on the Sharethrough Ad Exchange if such Site is directed at underage children as contemplated by applicable law, including the United States’ Children’s Online Privacy Protection Law, as amended (“COPPA”), General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) or any other applicable law. Partner shall inform Sharethrough in writing prior to launching any Site that targets children under the age of 18 on the Sharethrough Ad Exchange. Partners shall not pass to Sharethrough, nor its demand partners, any “personal data” (as defined by applicable law) of children as defined by applicable law. Partner is responsible for complying with industry standards and policies, such as, but not limited to Google’s Ad-serving Protections for Teens policy, and transmitting the COPPA flag in the bid request to Sharethrough, as applicable. Without limiting the foregoing, Partner shall comply with its obligations under applicable privacy and data protection requirements.
Sharethrough has the right to immediately suspend access to the Sharethrough Ad Exchange for any Partners in violation of the above guidelines without notice, and until such a time that Sharethrough is satisfied that there are no longer any violations to this Policy.
This Policy may be updated at any time without notice.
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