Image Courtesy: Axios
According to Axios, YouTube will no longer allow advertising linked to alcohol, gambling, politics, or “prescription medicine terms” for its masthead ad spot, which sits at the top of the website and app. According to Google, the restrictions on the kind of advertising that can show in this space will help “lead to a better experience for users.”
Moreover, Since the masthead slot is one of the first things viewers see when they open YouTube, it’s logical that keeping advertisements for drugs, alcohol, or gambling out of it would make YouTube more inclusive for everybody. In terms of politics, it may aid the platform in avoiding issues like the one that happened when then-President Donald Trump acquired the slot for three days during the 2020 election.
Ads in the masthead slot may “drive tremendous reach or awareness,” according to YouTube’s ad support website, but that megaphone will no longer be available to people who wish to promote in specific places. Google currently allows users to restrict the quantity of alcohol and gambling-related adverts they view on YouTube, and in principle the option would have extended to the masthead ad – according to Google, the firm modified the slot last year to show tailored advertising rather than those scheduled for an entire day.
For years, Google has attempted to balance its standards in order to decide what it does and does not show in advertising – most recently, it has reined in advertising that utilized hate speech as keywords, political disinformation, and conspiracy theories in relation to COVID-19. Google’s advertisements business has come under growing attention from politicians who feel it is ripe for antitrust regulation as it has moved to clean up the advertising it places in front of consumers.
