BEYOND BLOCKLISTS

How can we fund a diverse internet for all?

It’s only a few years since YouTube and Facebook were making headlines for displaying ads next to inappropriate content. Premium publishers offered an alternative: ads could appear next to quality content in trusted environments, with keyword blocking giving advertisers greater control over where their ad dollars appeared. On paper this sounds like a perfect solution, but in reality blocklists have led to millions in lost revenue and shut out minority communities from the internet. In the name of brand safety, some advertisers are blocking their ads from appearing on content about the Black Lives Matter movement, coronavirus news, LGBT content, women’s issues - event sport and entertainment content is affected. Has advertising made the internet less open, tolerant and rational?

Sonoo Singh, Founder Creative Salon, speaks with Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana, Head of Regulation at Impress) and Christopher Kenna, Founder of Brand Advance.

Produced with the kind assistance of Robert White, The Rattle Collective and The Nerve.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.