(Jessica Guynn, USA Today) – In a bid to end a boycott of Google and YouTube by major advertisers in the U.K., 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 include 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 U.K. to pull their spending. Adding fuel to the fire: Google’s growing share of digital advertising.
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