IMA SDK HTML5 : gdpr and gdpr_consent TCF2 macros issue

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Hi,

Like a lot of publishers we are experiencing errors 2.1.a and 1.1 in our Google Ad Manager account.

After some investigations we found that the IMA SDK HTML5 doesn't use the gdpr macros correctly.

When we call this URL :

https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/56274643/2665_Primary&description_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.futura-sciences.com%2Fsciences%2Fquestions-reponses%2Fhistoire-histoire-celtes-sont-ils-sont-ils-arrives-gaule-5412%2F&tfcd=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&correlator=4296183816678162023&nofb=1&vpmute=0&vpa=0&vad_type=linear&vpos=preroll&gdpr=1&gdpr_consent=CO6fTv7O6fTwIBcACBFRA5CoAP_AAH_AAAqIGMwMQABAAHAAUAA8ACsAGQAaAA4ACAAEgAKoAWABaADGAGgAagA8AB9AEQASQAmABPACsAFuALwAvwBhAGIANkAcgBzgDuAPAAfIBAAEIAJCAUgBSgC4AHEAPQAfoBAwCEAEdAJ0ATwAq4BWQC6wGAAYEAwgBogDaAH1AT-AvMBjIGMwHQAHgAVAAyABwAEAAKgAYwA0ADUAHgAPgAiABMACeAFYAL4AYgA5gCEAFKAP0AgYBCACrgF1gMAAwIBhADaAHkAXmAAA

The IMA SDK rewrites this URL like this :

https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=%2F56274643%2F2665_Primary&description_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.futura-sciences.com%2Fsciences%2Fquestions-reponses%2Fhistoire-histoire-celtes-sont-ils-sont-ils-arrives-gaule-5412%2F&tfcd=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=xml_vast4&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&correlator=2494668124505646&nofb=1&vpmute=1&vpa=auto&vad_type=linear&vpos=preroll&gdpr=1&gdpr_consent=tcunavailable&vconp=2&sdkv=h.3.411.1&osd=2&frm=0&vis=1&sdr=1&hl=fr&afvsz=200x200%2C250x250%2C300x250%2C336x280%2C450x50%2C468x60%2C480x70&is_amp=0&u_so=l&adsid=NT&sdki=44d&adk=3223846719&sdk_apis=2%2C8&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.futura-sciences.com%2Fsciences%2Fquestions-reponses%2Fhistoire-histoire-celtes-sont-ils-sont-ils-arrives-gaule-5412%2F&eid=44716180&dlt=1601367197998&idt=2229&dt=1601367200719&cookie=ID%3D27cb0a08dedba6c3-22c257d7e8b800c1%3AT%3D1601367199%3AS%3DALNI_MYEUgwDFBW-fPStDgMaVr8IUHpLZg&scor=96496610214952&ged=timeout

We already knew that the SDK rewrites some macros like the description_url but that point was really surprising for us.

You can see the issue live here : https://www.futura-sciences.com/sciences/questions-reponses/histoire-histoire-celtes-sont-ils-sont-ils-arrives-gaule-5412

We tried to load the CMP first, then wait for consent, then load the SDK to call our ads but the "tcunavailable" is randomly popping for no reason (both first view or cached page are affected).

We retro engineered IMA SDK code and found that "tcunavailable" was set after a setTimeout of 500ms.

IMA SDK should not override a valid consent string with tcunavailable. This is a serious issue as this bug is affecting our users, their privacy is not respected and this behaviour doesn't respect GDPR.

Could you check it and help us to find a solution for us and other publishers ?

Best

Adrian

[IMA SDK]

Hi Adrian,

Thank you for sharing this information with us.

I tried to replicate the issue using the ad tag that you have shared via our VSI, but with no success as I kept encountering an AdError 1009: “The VAST response document is empty”. However with the live page, indeed the issue on “tcunavailable” is occurring. Please see attached screenshot. And with that, I’m going to share this to my teammates to investigate further. Will give you an update once we have our findings.

Regards,

Sherwin Diesta IMA SDK Team

ref:_00D1U1174p._5004Q25Xfel:ref

[IMA SDK]

Hi,

The issue has been resolved.

This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!5004Q025Xfel:ref" (ADR-00047850)

Thanks,
 

IMA SDK Team

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