In today’s Digest, we discuss Apple blocking Trade Desk ads on Safari, AppLovin and Unity becoming locked in a data collection dispute, and IAB Europe setting new CTV measurement standards.

Apple blocks Trade Desk ads on Safari

The Trade Desk has hit an unexpected wall inside Apple's ecosystem.

Since the release of iOS 27 on 14th September, the demand-side platform has been unable to serve any ads on Safari for users who've updated their devices, after Apple added adsrvr.org, The Trade Desk's core domain for requesting and delivering ads, to its blocklist for cross-site tracking.

AppLovin & Unity locked in legal dispute over data collection

AppLovin has asked the Superior Court in San Francisco to temporarily block Unity from collecting certain data generated through AppLovin's advertising business. At the center of the dispute is Unity's Ad Quality tool, which is meant to help mobile game publishers monitor how ads perform inside their apps. AppLovin argues the tool is actually harvesting data it has no right to access, and possibly using it to train competing models. Unity firmly rejects these claims, insisting Ad Quality collects nothing directly from AppLovin and that any data it does gather comes from publishers who've authorised it. 

Unity offered to disable the disputed collection in auctions mediated through AppLovin's MAX platform, but only if AppLovin agreed to treat the matter as resolved. AppLovin refused, arguing the offer ignored data already collected, models potentially trained on it, and collection happening through other channels, including Google's AdMob.

IAB Europe sets new CTV measurement standards 

IAB Europe published its final Connected TV Measurement Framework and Transparency Principles on 1st October. It organises metrics into three tiers: foundational delivery data like impressions and viewability, exposure metrics such as view-through and completion rates, and performance measures including conversions, ROAS and brand uplift. Marie-Clare Puffett of IAB Europe said the consultation process tested the Framework against how CTV campaigns are actually bought and reported today, giving the industry a clearer common reference point for interpreting measurement consistently.

Alongside the metrics themselves, the Framework sets out five Transparency Principles meant to establish baseline expectations for how CTV measurement should be disclosed.