In June, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) dropped a bombshell report that shined a light on the darker underbelly of media trading. The same report delivered some truths about sketchy ad tech deals, showing how some ad tech firms have contributed to the rebate issue, non-transparent practices in general and the “black-box” deals.

Ahead of Dmexco, ad tech’s global summit in Cologne, we granted a senior ad tech executive anonymity in exchange for honesty as part of our Confessions series. The executive believes the ANA report’s focus on rebates eclipsed the fact ad tech tax remains alive and well. In fact, it’s getting even worse, driven by publishers’ ongoing need to drive up yields and hype around header bidding.

Read the full Digiday article here.