by Dana Lee on 11th Nov 2026 in Video Interviews

In this episode of A Coffee With... Konrad Shek, public policy and regulation director at the Advertising Association (AA), joins ExchangeWire CEO Rachel Smith to chat the Online Advertising Taskforce and AI's role in malvertising.

The UK's Online Advertising Taskforce unites government representatives and trade bodies across the industry to improve trust, accountability, and transparency. Its Information Sharing working group collates observations on the various threats and harms to the advertising ecosystem so organisations can respond with more well-rounded protections.

Konrad outlines how industry and government can collaborate to tackle online advertising fraud. While information sharing helps to identify patterns, effectiveness depends on sustained engagement and law-enforcement action against perpetrators. AI-driven measures, a balance of self- and statutory regulation, and stronger political and strategic awareness form key elements of the industry’s response.

The GSE Malvertising Pilot

The Global Signal Exchange (GSE) provides a platform to upload and compare signals as part of its malvertising pilot with the AA. By focusing on higher-confidence signals, it avoids inadvertently blocking legitimate campaigns. While adding malicious URLs to block lists can protect users from harmful sites, Konrad likens this to whack-a-mole, as new fraudulent activity will simply emerge elsewhere.

The potential to scale the exchange hinges on sustained engagement and tangible results. Collaboration reveals patterns no single participant can see – linked signals may help connect activity to specific domains or fraud groups. Passing such intelligence to law enforcement could also enable action against perpetrators, creating more impact than blocking individual URLs alone.

AI and Fraudulent Advertising

The rise of fraudulent advertising has been bolstered by AI. Rapid browsing and high content volume make it easier for convincing AI-generated material to pass initial scrutiny. At the same time, it aids in tackling the issue. Legitimate actors can use AI and machine learning to analyse information, identify trends, and cluster related activity, revealing patterns or connections that might otherwise be missed.

Solutions are still in early stages, such as adding provenance metadata to AI-generated or altered images, the EU’s code of practice on labelling AI-generated images, and UK guidelines in development. Discussions are also reportedly underway with tech platforms like OpenAI to detect fraudulent image use and shut down implicated accounts.

Self- & Statutory Regulation

Industry-agreed codes of practice can be more responsive than legislation, which is often slow to finalise and subject to political change. Still, advertising rules have legislative foundations, such as the Advertising Standards Authority’s ability to refer persistent breaches to relevant regulators. GDPR and subsequent developments have pushed ad tech towards greater privacy, consumer control, and compliance.

A combined model delivers stronger outcomes: industry can adapt quickly, while regulators add a crucial backstop. Ultimately, businesses should not chase short-term profit at the expense of long-term sustainability. As politics and social change increasingly shape operations, it is important look beyond current legal compliance to consider emerging concerns, unintended consequences, and issues likely to attract regulatory attention.

Ad FraudAdvertisingAIMalvertisingRegulation