How to Report a Complaint

Companies conducting interest-based advertising are held accountable when they join our self-regulatory program.

Ad Standards, an independent enforcement body that monitors our self-regulatory program, accepts and addresses complaints.

To report a potential violation of the AdChoices program principles, please visit Ad Standards' reporting form. Tips for complaint submissions are detailed below.

PLEASE NOTE - AdChoices is not an ad blocker. Please also note that AdChoices is not an advertising company. We do not control the content of specific ads, where they are placed, or how frequently you see them. Instead, AdChoices lets you control how companies use your data to personalize ads based on your interests.

Submitting a Complaint

When preparing to submit a complaint about ad targeting, have as much information available as possible to report to Ad Standards.

It’s important to make note of where you saw the ad (the website URL or the app), what the ad was for (ideally the brand name), whether or not the icon was displayed on the ad, what happened when you clicked on the icon notice, etc.

Try to take screenshots of the incident you are reporting, as that will greatly help Ad Standards conduct their investigation. The controls to the right show how to do this.

How to take a screenshot:

+ Windows Desktop
+ Mac Desktop
+ Apple iOS
+ Android
+ Windows 8.1 & 10 Mobile

AdChoices Compliance Guide

This handy infographic was created to help active program participants understand the elements of program compliance.

Click on the image to enlarge.

About Ad Standards

Ad Standards, an independent national advertising self-regulatory body, is responsible for the accountability component of the AdChoices program in Canada.

As part of this responsibility, Ad Standards accepts and investigates complaints about online interest-based advertising practices that may violate the DAAC's self-regulatory principles for online behavioural advertising.

When a violation is confirmed, Ad Standards works with companies involved to achieve compliance and publishes compliance reports.

Compliance Reports

The AdChoices Accountability Program Compliance Reports highlight how companies participating in the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (DAAC)'s AdChoices program for online interest-based advertising (IBA) have implemented the program's principles.

As Canada's national advertising industry self-regulatory body, Ad Standards' compliance efforts are independent of the DAAC.