YouTube prides itself on ensuring the safety of its community. Because of their efforts, YouTube is the first digital platform to receive MRC accreditation for content-level brand safety.

The accreditation

With the MRC accreditation, YouTube now proves its effectiveness of safety in regards to the guidelines set forth from the MRC in 2018. To receive the Media Rating Council accreditation, YouTube underwent a thorough audit. The audit included a review of the policies that determine what videos post to the platform. It also reviewed the system which analyzes the videos uploaded, as well as the eligibility for monetization and advertising. It also audited the team of human raters that control the technology’s automated classifications.

The accreditation centralized on “ads sold through Google Ads, Display & Video 360 (DV360) and YouTube Reserve, including in-stream ads and excluding video discovery, the masthead, YouTube Kids and live stream.”

The industry’s input

George W. Ivie, the Director and CEO of MRC, praised the company. Ivie noted, “When we issued those guidelines in 2018, we recognized we had set a high bar for brand safety protection, and YouTube has now met that bar thanks to its years of dedication to brand safety and to the MRC audit process.”

Marc S. Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer of Proctor & Gamble, also complimented YouTube. “This accreditation milestone is testament to YouTube’s sustained commitment and investment to enable brands to advertise in safe environments on their platform. We hope this experience inspires others to do the same.” 

Debbie Weinstein, the Vice President of YouTube & Video Global Solutions, spoke about what this accreditation means to the platform. Weinstein said, “We are committed to remaining at least 99% effective at ensuring brand safety of advertising placements on YouTube, in accordance with industry definitions.” She continued to explain how they “will remain humble and alert” in the future when challenges arise. The team at YouTube strives to be the best possible ally to advertisers while contributing to a “responsible ecosystem.” 

YouTube is continually evolving so, the system which analyzes its safety must do the same. This ensures optimized brand safety across the YouTube platform.

Image Courtesy – Tubefilter