1558905 - ad server handle shims for 2 new events

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(Firefox :: New Tab Page, enhancement, P1)

Description

[Scott [:thecount] Downe]

Right now we have a shim for clicks and impressions, see bugs 1558903 and 1550119.

We want to expand on this with shims for existing events for saving a story an dismissing a story.

Comment 1

[Jessilyn Davis]

Ideally: get this landed before code freeze (6/28). QA may have to happen for this in Beta, or during code freeze week in Nightly.

Comment 2

[GitHub Bugzilla PR Linker]

Attachment: Link to GitHub pull-request: https://github.com/mozilla/activity-stream/pull/5109

Comment 3

[Scott [:thecount] Downe]

Attachment: Data review for spoc shim

Data review for spoc shim, pretty much the same deal as the last one, but instead of click and view pings, this is for dismiss and save to pocket pings

Comment 4

[klong]

Comment on attachment 9071778 [details]
Data review for spoc shim

This bug adds the shim (id) that was approved by legal in bug 1550119 to a few more existing new tab actions (save/dismiss), so the review is essentially the same. Going to escalate to legal for the same reasons (potential category 3 data and 3rd-party collection tool) but expect it should be fast approval.

1) Is there or will there be documentation that describes the schema for the ultimate data set available publicly, complete and accurate?

Data Dictionary: https://github.com/mozilla/activity-stream/blob/258b3ad76d5284c87ef209d9b2c5aaddfffc8113/docs/v2-system-addon/data_dictionary.md


2) Is there a control mechanism that allows the user to turn the data collection on and off?

The user can opt-out the data collection by either disabling the telemetry of Activity Stream or disabling the Firefox telemetry as a whole. You could also opt out of sponsored content, and it would no longer send any pings related to sponsored content, including the shim. Also if you turned off Activity Stream or Discovery Stream, it would also opt out.


3) If the request is for permanent data collection, is there someone who will monitor the data over time?

The Pocket ad ops team (Lillian Bui) and analytics (Kirill Demtchouk) will monitor this data over time.


4) Using the category system of data types on the Mozilla wiki, what collection type of data do the requested measurements fall under?

This could be considered either Category 2 or Category 3 data. It is data about the interactions with the Firefox new tab page, but the save/dismiss do imply interactions with content (and thus maybe web activity).


5) Is the data collection request for default-on or default-off?

Default on.


6) Does the instrumentation include the addition of any new identifiers (whether anonymous or otherwise; e.g., username, random IDs, etc. See the appendix for more details)?

Yes, save and dismiss events will now include a "shim", which is a base64 encoded id unique to the impression from the Ad server. This id has already been approved for impression/click events.


7) Is the data collection covered by the existing Firefox privacy notice?

Unsure.


8) Does there need to be a check-in in the future to determine whether to renew the data?

No, this is a technical requirement of the Ad server to work. It needs it to properly serve sponsored content and must be continued as long as the ad server is used.


9) Does the data collection use a third-party collection tool?

Yes, AdZerk will generate the shim, and receive it in anonymized save and dismiss events.

Comment 5

[Alicia Gray]

HI Kenny,

The data review info in Comment 3 says:

2. Why answer these?

AdZerk will use the shim to control the speed at which ads are delivered (“pacing”) and prevent users from seeing ads more than the allowed limit.

But the description above says the shim is now looking to be extended to the save/dismiss interaction. Is the data review in Comment 3 just for reference? Looking to make sure there's not a disconnect in the request.

Comment 6

[klong]

The save/dismiss interactions are used by AdZerk to prevent users from seeing ads they should not (ads they have dismissed or saved), so I think Scott and I are on the same page for this data request/review... But is there something else you see that doesn't line up?

Comment 7

[Alicia Gray]

It looked like the use of the shim for pacing (from the data review info in Comment 3) was different than it's use as described for this request for save/dismiss interactions so I just wanted to make sure I wasn't misunderstanding the ask.

I don't have any concerns about using the shim for save/dismiss; as with its use for the clicks and impressions there's no change to the basic properties of the new tab collection.

Let's make sure that these new events also are accounted for when the user deletes their data (see treatment in Bug 1553933). It should since its SPOC info associated with their ID.

Comment 8

[Scott [:thecount] Downe]

Yup that all makes sense to me. :thumbsup:

Comment 9

[klong]

Comment on attachment 9071778 [details]
Data review for spoc shim

Great, with that we can give this a data-review+

Comment 10

[Ed Lee :Mardak]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/0dff9f803849

Comment 11

[Ciprian Muresan [:cmuresan], Ecosystem QA]

I have verified that the save and delete shims are sent based on the action taken by the user (Save to Pocket, Dismiss) on the latest Nightly 69.0a1 (Build ID 20190618214619) on Windows 10, macOS 10.14, and Arch Linux 4.14.3.