The pressure on Facebook over its overstated consumer video viewing habits increased on Thursday when a major advertising group called for third-party verification of the videos’ audience.
Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, appearing on a panel at Advertising Week NYC on Tuesday, had pledged to do everything “to get it right.”
But the major advertising group, the Association of National Advertisers, isn’t satisfied with simple reassurances.
“The recent disclosures by Facebook that they overestimated video viewing for two years is troubling,” said ANA president and CEO Bob Liodice. “While ANA recognizes that ‘mistakes do happen,’ we also recognize that Facebook has not yet achieved the level of measurement that marketers need and require.”
Facebook is the dominant ad force among US social networks, pulling in about 74.3 percent of what eMarketer estimated in 2015 to be a $10.8 billion market.
Liodice said the ANA “does not believe there are any pragmatic reasons that a media company should not abide by the standards of accreditation and auditing.”


