The Smaato Blog

South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act (“PIPA”) was enacted on September 30, 2011 and is considered to be one of the strictest data protection regimes in the world.

South Korea’s prior Public Agency Data Protection Act was largely limited. In the private sector, it applied only to those businesses that used telecommunications services. And in the public sector, the legislation covered all public agencies but lacked enough limits on government collection of data. The old Act was replaced with the more comprehensive PIPA, which applies to both public and private sectors. As a result, “more than 3.5 million public entities and private businesses are now regulated by common criteria and principles, and common enforcement mechanisms.”

After a year of legislative proceedings, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China enacted the Cybersecurity Law, taking effect on June 1, 2017. This move is illustrative of China’s increasing focus on cybersecurity and its intention to bring its cyber practices in line with global best practices for data privacy. The Cybersecurity Law appears to impose what some say to be “more onerous” requirements than even those imposed by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”).

Until now, the role of a data protection officer (DPO) had been largely undefined. Historically, data was considered primarily in the context of computing, and those given the role of a DPO were frequently professionals with an information and communications technology background. In fact, prior to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), very few countries had required the appointment of a DPO or other data privacy role within an organization. Given the ubiquitous nature of technology today, the role and expectations of a DPO have diversified and expanded, especially in light of the GDPR. 

To keep up with the fast pace at which technology is developing, the EU has begun amending its regulations to reflect these technological advances.

In January 2017, less than nine months after the European Union (EU) adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the European Commission drafted a proposal, known as the ePrivacy Regulation (“Proposal”), as part of an initiative to replace the current ePrivacy Directive. Together with the GDPR, the Proposal will aim to provide the strongest protection to users’ data across the EU.

Over 25% of consumers' total media time is spent in-app,¹ and since mobile devices are typically owned and used by one person, these apps are closely connected to users' personal lives and daily habits. The in-app environment also offers advertisers sophisticated data tracking and user targeting that is superior to other digital advertising formats, which makes it the ideal medium for creating effective advertising touchpoints. 

Apps have transformed mankind’s relationship with technology. We not only spend more time in-app than ever before, but the diverse quantity of apps available has become much greater than Steve Jobs could have ever imagined when the App Store first opened ten years ago. As a result, advertisers have a growing interest in the mobile app landscape and are investing an increasing amount of their budgets towards reaching app users.

The Global Trends in Mobile Advertising report analyzes the billions of monthly mobile ad impressions from the Smaato platform in order to gain insight into the mobile and in-app advertising landscape. Download the report below to learn more about the key mobile advertising trends observed on the Smaato platform in Q4 2017, which include:

Mobile World Congress (MWC) is just around the corner, and Smaato is proud to be returning to Barcelona to attend this massive mobile event for the ninth year in a row!

As the world’s largest event for the mobile industry, Mobile World Congress is both the most exciting and challenging four days of the year for the event's exhibitors, organizers, journalists and attendees. To ensure that you (and your mobile device) stay fully charged throughout the event, we have compiled a list of the most useful tips for surviving MWC.

What is the GDPR?

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will go into effect on May 25, 2018, significantly changing how companies handle personal data of their EU consumers. The GDPR will replace the current EU Data Protection Directive as the overarching data privacy framework across the European Economic Area (EEA).

With ad tech companies striving to create the best user experience by delivering the most relevant advertisements, the GDPR’s effects will be substantial.

With 62% of Muslims living in APAC, Ramadhan is one of the region’s busiest advertising seasons of the year.¹ And APAC consumers’ move to mobile is opening up a huge opportunity for advertisers looking to engage with the Muslim community during Ramadhan.

Ramadhan is celebrated by 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, with the some of the largest Muslim populations located in Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Singapore.² This religious holiday is not only a time of spiritual discipline, but also a time for social activities, shopping and travel — each of which is highly driven by mobile devices.

This is going to be a disruptive year for many of the major players in the advertising game.

As we close out January, I’m finally taking a breath to collect my thoughts on the trends and forecasts for 2018 that will impact the mobile advertising industry. Many of these predictions are not big stretches, but I do think they will be continuous themes throughout the year that will dominate the conversations.