The Advertising Association, the IPA and IAB UK have committed to launching a working group, led by Isba, to map how harmful content attracts advertising revenue.
The Content Monetisation Working Group will review current brand safety and suitability practice and identify gaps in existing safeguards. It will eventually recommend practical improvements, including guidance for advertisers and agencies, transparency principles for platforms and tech providers, and advice for smaller brands working with platforms.
The announcement forms part of a joint statement by the trade bodies, released last week, in response to a new memo from an anonymous group of industry leaders convened by the non-profit Inside Track.
The memo warned that advertisers are continuing to fund harmful and hateful content online. It argued that the UK’s advertising trade associations, as well as holding companies, adtech firms and media agencies, have “ignored or sidelined” media practitioners pushing for substantive reform.
The Advertising Association said the group had been in development for several months as part of the Online Advertising Taskforce work programme and predates the Inside Track memo.
One Inside Track group member told The Media Leader that the trade bodies are slow to act. The member warned that they have become captured by the interests of the very tech platforms failing to take action on hateful content, as companies including Amazon, ByteDance, Google and Meta have become some of the UK’s largest ad sellers.
The group called on the government to “take input from a broader group of industry experts” in its efforts to address the funding of hateful content online, effectively asking ministers to bypass the trade bodies to get a more comprehensive view of the issue.
The trade bodies’ joint statement reads: “We take concerns regarding ad placement and supply chain transparency extremely seriously, and our industry remains resolute that commercial revenue should never fund hate speech or harmful content.
“The UK has long led global efforts on brand safety, from pioneering early cross-industry standards via Jicwebs to actively driving certification programmes such as those run by the IAB and Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG). We remain committed to open, rigorous dialogue on ensuring digital ad spend supports a safe, trusted and inclusive ecosystem.”
Spokespeople for the trade bodies also said they are “working across the advertising ecosystem” to address online harms via the Online Advertising Taskforce, a joint industry and government initiative chaired by a Department for Culture, Media and Sport minister.
The taskforce has met nine times since its first meeting in July 2023, most recently on Monday, chaired by Ian Murray, minister for creative industries, media and arts, with Mark Lund, chairman of the Advertising Standards Board of Finance (Asbof), as deputy chair.
However, its remit covers illegal advertising and children being served ads for products illegal to sell to them, rather than the monetisation of hateful content.
The trade bodies’ statement continues: “We have seen time and again that tackling deep-rooted issues demands meaningful collaboration, across our industry and with government. We believe that is the most effective way to bring about change and we will continue working to deliver it.”
Editors Note: This article was updated on 4 November to reflect the taskforce’s meeting on 2 November, to clarify that Isba is leading the working group and the IAB UK is a member.
