OFFENSIVE MATERIAL
Exiting brands force Google to alter ad policies
Google plans to give clients more control over where their ads appear on YouTube and the Google Display Network
London — Google, the primary revenue driver for Alphabet, announced changes to its advertising policies after major brands pulled ads from the platform because they appeared alongside offensive content, such as videos promoting terrorism or anti-Semitism. Google said in a blog post on Friday that it would give clients more control over where their ads appear on both YouTube, the video-sharing service it owns, and the Google Display Network, which posts advertising to third-party websites. The announcement came after the UK government and the Guardian newspaper pulled ads from the video site, stepping up pressure on YouTube to police content on its platform. France’s Havas, the world’s sixth-largest advertising and marketing company, pulled its UK clients’ ads from Google and YouTube on Friday after failing to get assurances from Google that the ads would not appear next to offensive material. Those clients include wireless carrier O2, Royal Mail, government-owned British Broadcastin...
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