Moonee CMP Approval by IAB - Protecting the privacy of our users

At Moonee, we acknowledge the importance of safeguarding the privacy of our users in the ever-evolving gaming industry and be aligned with regulation. In a landscape marked by changing regulations and merging genres, ensuring user privacy requires a delicate balance between the regulators, developers, and users.In this intricate triangle, each party advocates for their interests. Users wish for the utmost privacy protection, regulators aim for legal compliance, and developers/publishers need to thrive within the industry. Striking a harmonious balance is essential to ensure the sustainable growth of the gaming ecosystem.

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The user

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The users are you and me, we care about our data. We don’t want our data to be sold, transferred or used without our consent. Do we have the power to control it? Due to the dominance of social media platforms, we have seen that users are asking for data protection, more than ever. And regulators are answering the call to ensure actions will be made on our behalf.

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‍The regulator

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The introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) originally enacted in 2016 has set new standards, emphasizing the significance of user consent and delineating the surrounding conditions. In order to achieve that goal, the Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF), was launched in April 2018 after the European Parliament adopted it as law. The Compliance Programme (CMP) by the TCF further contributes to this effort by establishing a cross-industry, voluntary standard that aligns with the ePrivacy Directive and GDPR. Those are the regulators in this environment. But, as a complex industry, some regulators are also publishers. In fact, the biggest players from the publishing side are also a type of regulator. For example, iOS14, which came to life in 2020, and the announcement of Google SandBox, are the signs from those 2 big, store-controlling companies, to show their interest in both compliance, and user satisfaction. These large companies have moved away from being merely “profit-oriented”, and instead towards the regulator camp.

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‍The developer / publisher

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Lastly, we have the regular publisher, which comes in all sizes. But it does not matter how big or small the publisher is, changes are coming. Advertising providers trading in public markets must comply with regulators, and do business with compliant publishers. The publisher must seek a technical solution, approved by the regulator, in order to work with advertisers. Since these regulations, the industry at large has turned to 3rd party CMP providers to stay competitive.

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‍‍Advantages of a private CMP

We, at Moonee, are proud to be the first mobile game publisher to receive a CMP approval by the TCF, using the in-house Software Developer Kit (SDK) that we built and implemented ourselves. While there is no issue with using the 3rd party solutions available on the market, we chose to design our own CMP tool to enjoy the following advantages:

1. Commitment: We are committed to protect users' privacy and consent. By having our own tool, we can ensure the highest protection standards.
2. Leadership: By showing that trust tools, like CMP, can be managed in-house, we hope to inspire our fellow publishers to take more ownership of how they are treating users' data.
3. Privacy: The agreement made by the user with us is not transferred or managed by a third party. Instead, the user is giving it directly to the one agreeing party.
4. Revenue increases: Statistics show an increase of 30% gross revenue by using digital privacy solutions in some segments. By managing it ourselves, we are not at risk of future cost increases or decreased profit margins. Meaning more profit to our game studios partners.
5. Resilience: As a data driven company, we strive to adapt to changes that will come, and react almost immediately. This lets us stay agile and keep our users' privacy and developers’ revenue unharmed.
6. Independence: As CMP is still relatively new, some of the 3rd party CMP providers have a new one as well. Managing our own tool keeps us further away from risk. In addition it will allow us tailormade optimization of the tool to our unique games.
7. Stability: From a tech perspective, our SDK runs on Unity and supports independent studios. Our infrastructure is simple, stable and effective for usage at a larger scale with millions of DAU.

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The tech

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We previously introduced our SDK, a powerful toolkit that grants users the authority to manage their data. Before engaging in any data-related activities, such as monitoring playtime, retaining information, displaying advertisements, or tracking in-app purchases, we explicitly request consent from users. This approach adheres to the principles of free, voluntary, and informed consent, ensuring users possess control over their privacy as mandated by regulatory standards. Subsequently, users are given the option to provide or withhold consent for any or all partners involved in presenting ads or tracking activities. Users retain the flexibility to revoke their consent at any moment, triggering an immediate action within milliseconds to notify all partners to cease any activities not aligned with the new consent.

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In conclusion, we at Moonee are not only adapting to the evolving gaming industry but also leading the way in protecting user privacy, fostering regulatory compliance, and ensuring a sustainable and user-centric gaming ecosystem for the future.