Google is pulling display ads from being placed alongside a wider range of content on YouTube and other sites, in the wake of a spike of criticism that its..
Google is pulling display ads from being placed alongside a wider range of content on YouTube and other sites, in the wake of a spike of criticism that its automatic, programmatic advertising seemingly cannot stop mainstream brands from appearing alongside extremist and offensive material.
Last week a number of brands and publishers in Europe said they would pull advertising from Google’s network after their adverts were revealed to be being displayed alongside content such as videos promoting terrorism and anti-Semitism — a long-standing issue with online ad networks that is arguably coming to a head now given rising concern about extremist movements using online channels to spread divisive messaging and build influence among voters in democratic societies.
In response to criticism last week from advertisers including the UK government, the Guardian newspaper and French ad giant Havas, Google said it would be expanding controls to give them more say over where their ads appear on YouTube and the Google Display Network.
More brands have since joined the boycott.
Google is now providing more detail on its response — and says it’s already started making changes, evidently hoping to stem the flow of brands away from its ad network. Chief business officer Philipp Schindler writes today that Google has “already begun ramping up changes” in three areas: its ad policies; enforcement of the policies; and new controls for advertisers.
“Recently, we had a number of cases where brands’ ads appeared on content that was not aligned with their values. For this, we deeply apologize,” he writes. “We know that this is unacceptable to the advertisers and agencies who put their trust in us. That’s why we’ve been conducting an extensive review of our advertising policies and tools, and why we made a public commitment last week to put in place changes that would give brands more control over where their ads appear.”
Among the changes Schindler covers off in the blog is what he describes as “a tougher stance on hateful, offensive and derogatory content”.
