USA TODAY International Edition
Google targets offensive content next to ads
Company rushes to protect growing revenue stream
In a bid to end a SAN FRANCISCO boycott of Google and YouTube by major advertisers in the United Kingdom, Google says it will pull online ads from controversial content, give brands more control over where their ads appear and will deploy more people to enforce its ad policies.
And, amid charges it has not done enough to curtail hate speech on its services, Google broadened its definition to in- clude content that harasses or attacks people based on race, religion, gender or other “similar” categories.
“We know advertisers don’t want their ads next to content that doesn’t align with their values,” Philipp Schindler, Google’s chief business officer, wrote in a blog post. “So starting today, we’re taking a tougher stance on hateful, offensive and derogatory content.”
The moves come in response to a growing controversy over the placement of online ads from major brands next to offensive or extremist content that prompted some marketers in the United Kingdom to pull their spending. Adding fuel to the fire: Google’s growing share of digital advertising. The Guardian reported that Google publicly apologized after being “read the Riot Act” by U. K. officials upset that government ads appeared alongside YouTube videos of U. S. white supremacists and Islamist hate mongers.
Google has incentive to remedy the situation quickly. The U. K. generated $ 7.8 billion in 2016 sales for Google parent company Alphabet.
Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser downgraded Alphabet stock Monday, saying the U. K. boycott could have global repercussions.
Reached on Tuesday, Wieser said Google’s changes don’t go far enough, noting that more advertisers including Volkswagen and Toyota have joined the boycott. Alphabet shares were down 2%.
“Google needs to convey more clearly that their goal is zero tolerance for brand unsafe environments when they place ads. Google aspires to ‘ moonshots’ so why not pursue a moonshot to get to zero instances here?” Wieser said. “They will undoubtedly solve this problem, or placate concerned advertisers, but it’s too late to prevent enhanced scrutiny.”
“Brand safety” has emerged as possibly the biggest issue facing the advertising industry, Wieser says.
For large marketers, even one ad placed next to extremist content can cause harm to a brand, he said.