Google apologises for ads on extremist content

Matt Brittin, Google’s head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, has publically apologised after adverts for a number of prominent brands and UK government agencies appeared alongside extremist content on the search engine’s YouTube video streaming service.

Speaking at the Advertising Week Europe conference, Brittin said: “I want to start by saying sorry to the brands affected by this. I take the issue very seriously and I apologise in the instances where that may have happened.”

Brittin then explained that Google was working towards improving its ad placement systems but refused to be drawn on whether the search giant would actively seek out inappropriate content. Google currently rely on users to flag such material.

Brittin said: “Of course we’re looking again at how we improve what we’re doing on enforcement. That’s a question of resources and technology and community.”

The response was deemed inadequate by Yvette Cooper, Labour MP and home affairs select committee chair, who in the past has accused Google of “profiting from hatred.”

Cooper told journalists: “This apology from Google doesn’t go far enough,” she said. “They need to say whether they will be paying back any of that advertising revenue and to answer our questions on what more they are doing to root out extremism or illegal activity on YouTube because they are still failing to do enough to remove illegal or hate-filled content from YouTube.”

She continued: ““They still don’t seem to have woken up to the seriousness and toxicity of some of the videos they are still hosting and their own responsibility to deal with that. And they still haven’t agreed to use any of their much-feted search engines to identify illegal content such as National Action videos and remove them.

“It isn’t enough for Google to respond only when their advertising revenues take a hit. They are one of the biggest and most powerful companies on the planet. They can afford to do far more, far faster to deal with illegal and hate-filled content online.”

Marks & Spencer have joined a long list of companies pulling their ads from Google following the scandal, including McDonald’s, the BBC, L’Oréal, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds, the Guardian, Audi and Channel 4.