It’s also working with MRC-accredited third parties…
Google is working with third-party companies to make sure YouTube content is safe for brands while also deploying advanced machine learning to better identify content that might be deemed offensive to viewers and advertisers.
A Google spokesperson today told Adweek in a statement that the companies are accredited by the Media Rating Council to conduct ad verification audits but didn’t provide a full list of the third-party companies Google is working with.
“As part of our commitment to provide even more transparency and visibility to our advertising partners, we’ll be working with trusted vendors to provide third-party brand safety reporting on YouTube,” the spokesperson said. “We are working with companies that are MRC-accredited for ad verification on this initiative and will begin integrating these technologies shortly.”
The updates arrive as the advertising giant struggles with how to appease the agencies, brands and governments that have pulled hundreds of millions of dollars from YouTube in recent weeks after their ads appeared alongside offensive videos. In March, Havas UK and others started pulling ad spending after noticing the ads they placed for clients were appearing next to YouTube videos supporting terrorism and racism.
In a weekend interview with Bloomberg News, Google chief business officer Philipp Schindler said the company has flagged at least five times as many offensive videos as it did a few weeks ago.
(adweek)
