Google is attempting to quell a growing furor by the British government and major brands in both the U.K and the U.S., who are angered by the placement of their online ads alongside offensive or extremist content — such as videos by white supremacists or the Islamic State. Recently Google said they would pull online ads from controversial content, give brands more control over where their ads appear, and deploy more people to enforce its ad policies.
"Brand safety" has emerged as possibly the biggest issue facing the advertising industry. For large marketers, even one ad placed next to extremist content can cause harm to a brand. As a result, AT&T, Verizon, Johnson & Johnson, Apple and other major U.S. advertisers are pulling hundreds of millions of dollars in business from Google and its video service YouTube until Google can fix the issue.