Facebook and Instagram have been certified for the Gold Standard by the IAB UK. The Gold Standard is an initiative from the IAB UK to reduce ad fraud, improve the experience of digital advertising, and increase brand safety.

Achieving certification means that Facebook upholds the IAB Gold Standard principles and has complied with three key measures to help foster the improvement of digital advertising. The first is to reduce ad fraud by adopting the ADS.txt initiative on Facebook and Instagram. Second, to increase brand safety through the JICWEBS DTSG Good Practice Principles. And thirdly, to improve the digital advertising experience by adhering to the LEAN ad standards and avoiding the use of the 12 bad ad formats identified by the Coalition for Better Advertising.

“Peoples media consumption is changing at an ever faster rate with significant opportunities to create value for both people and businesses,” said Steve Hatch, Facebook’s VP of Northern Europe. “Companies are relying on us to work together as an industry to give advertisers the information and tools they need to understand the true business value of digital advertising, and to ensure this advertising appears in brand safe environments. The IAB UKs Gold Standard represents a substantial move from the industry to provide a unified rigour to the diverse landscape of digital advertising. We support the initiative and continue to work with the IAB and its wider steering groups to help create greater effectiveness and the greatest possible value for businesses both large and small.”

There’s more on this in a Facebook blog post here.