Google to Keep Ads Off ‘Hateful, Offensive’ YouTube Content

Google will give advertisers more control over where their ads appear and improve its internal controls, reports NPR, “as the owner of AdWords and YouTube apologized for “a number of cases where brands’ ads appeared on content that was not aligned with their values.”

“The move comes days after reports of ads “showing up in YouTube alongside videos of white nationalists and terrorists” prompted both advertising companies and branches of the U.K. government to halt ad campaigns handled by Google, as Adweek reported.

“”We know that this is unacceptable to the advertisers and agencies who put their trust in us,” Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler said in a blog post Tuesday that promised the company would take “a tougher stance on hateful, offensive and derogatory content” as of Tuesday.

“On Friday, the U.K. arm of the Havas agency, whose clients include the BBC and Royal Mail, said it would halt spending on YouTube and Web display ads in Google’s digital advertising network. In doing so, Havas UK CEO Paul Frampton cited a duty to protect clients and “ensure their brands are not at all compromised” by appearing alongside or seeming to sponsor inappropriate content.”