by Andy McDonald, SVP, Government Affairs, OAAA
The Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) in collaboration with its Digital Billboard Committee has recently amended its Digital Billboard Security Guidelines to include a section entitled “Human Approval of Content for Digital Displays.” The Digital Billboard Security Guidelines remain the best practices to prevent hacking of digital billboards, but OAAA felt they were an appropriate treatise in which to emphasize the need for human review of digital content prior to posting. Such human review should be performed by as many people and departments within an out of home (OOH) company as possible, from sales and graphic design to IT and operations and all points in between.
The purpose of human oversight is to ensure the integrity and appropriateness of content on digital displays, OOH owners must be vigilant against the potential posting of Problematic Content, which is generally defined as material that is obscene, fraudulent, criminal, or hateful, as well as content that violates community standards or OAAA’s Code of Industry Principles. While Problematic Content can arise from owner-created material, the risk is significantly higher with programmatic or automated content, which may lack sufficient human oversight.
Despite advancements in software and artificial intelligence (AI) filters, these tools cannot fully replace human judgment. The subtle nuances and context required to accurately assess content appropriateness necessitate human review. Therefore, to mitigate risks and uphold content standards, it is recommended that all digital display content undergo human approval.
Given the rapid growth of digital content sources, OOH owners should implement a policy where every piece of content – whether sourced programmatically or created in-house – is reviewed by at least one person before being posted. This human oversight is crucial to prevent the display of Problematic Content and to maintain the quality and integrity of digital advertising.
Published: August 22, 2024