WFA and platforms adopt stand to address harmful content
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, in partnership with marketers and agencies through the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, GARM, have agreed to adopt a common set of definitions for hate speech and other harmful content and to collaborate with a view to monitoring industry efforts to improve in this critical area.
The changes follow 15 months of intensive talks within GARM between major advertisers, agencies and key global platforms, with the first changes to be introduced this month. GARM is a cross-industry initiative founded and led by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and supported by other trade bodies, including ANA, ISBA and the 4A’s.
Four key areas for action have been identified, designed to boost consumer and advertiser safety with agreed individual timelines for each platform to implement across the different areas.
The key areas of agreement include:
Adoption of GARM common definitions for harmful content.
Development of GARM reporting standards on harmful content.
Commitment to have independent oversight on brand safety operations, integrations and reporting.
Commitment to develop and deploy tools to better manage advertising adjacency.
Stephan Loerke, CEO,WFA: “The issue of harmful content online has become one of the challenges of our generation. As funders of the online ecosystem, advertisers have a critical role to play in driving positive change and we are pleased to have reached agreement with the platforms on an action plan and timeline in order to make the necessary improvements. A safer social media environment will provide huge benefits not just for advertisers and society but also to the platforms themselves.”
WFA believes that the standards should be applicable to all media given the increased polarisation of content regardless of channel, not just the digital platforms. As such, it encourages members to apply the same adjacency criteria for all their media spend decisions irrespective of the media.
Raja Rajamannar, CMCO, Mastercard and WFA President: “We are delighted that GARM has made such significant progress in such a short period of time. I know these discussions have not been easy but these solutions when implemented, will offer more choice and control for advertisers and their agencies by supporting content that aligns with their values.”
Today, advertising definitions of harmful content vary by platform and that makes it hard for brand-owners to make informed decisions on where their ads are placed, and to promote transparency and accountability industry-wide.
Carolyn Everson, VP Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook: "This uncommon collaboration, brought together by the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, has aligned the industry on the brand safety floor and suitability framework, giving us all a unified language to move forward on the fight against hate online."
GARM has been working on common definitions for harmful content since November and these have been developed to add more depth and breadth pertaining to specific types of harm such as hate speech and acts of aggression and bullying.
All platforms will now consistently enforce these standards as part of their advertising content standards and consistently enforce the common definitions.
Jacqui Stephenson, Global Responsible Marketing Officer, Mars: “This is a meaningful milestone in our work with GARM and part of a longer journey that started over 18 months ago. Thanks to the uncommon collaboration of GARM’s diverse membership, we now have a time-bound roadmap for the development of foundational standards, definitions and reporting practices across social media platforms which will help make social media an experience that is safer for everyone, consumers and brands alike. This is not a declaration of victory as there is much work to be done and we rely on all of our platform partners to follow through on their commitments with the pace and urgency these issues demand. Nevertheless, this is an important step in making social media a safer place for society and it’s important to recognise the progress and build further momentum as a result.”
Today, each platform has its own methodologies to measure the occurrence of harmful content. There is a need to harmonize those methodologies and to focus on metrics that are truly meaningful from a brand and a societal perspective, namely how we measure and quantify the presence harmful content per platform.
Having a harmonized, reporting framework is a critical step to ensure that policies around harmful content are enforced effectively. All parties have now agreed to pursue a set of harmonised metrics on issues around platform safety, advertiser safety, platform effectiveness in addressing harmful content.
Between September and November work will continue to develop a set of harmonize metrics and reporting formats, for approval and adoption in 2021.
With the stakes so high, brands, agencies, and platforms need an independent view on how individual participants are categorising, eliminating, and reporting harmful content. A third-party verification mechanism is critical to driving trust among all stakeholders.
The goal is to have all major platforms audited for brand safety or have a plan in place for audits by year end.
Advertisers need to have visibility and control so that their advertising does not appear adjacent to harmful or unsuitable content and take corrective action if necessary and to be able to do so quickly.
GARM is working to define adjacency with each platform, and then develop standards that allow for a safe experience for consumers and brands. Platforms that have not yet implemented an adjacency solution will have a roadmap by year-end.Platforms will provide a solution through their own systems, via third party providers or a combination thereof.
Sarah Personette, VP, Global Client Solutions, Twitter: "We continue to be committed to aligning on industry standards and frameworks that will help address harmful content and create a brand-safe environment for advertisers. We are proud of the progress we have made in partnership with GARM and the other members to implement changes we believe will help create a place for healthy public conversation."
