The brand safety imperative: Why the industry must take responsibility now
For too long, the digital advertising industry has treated brand safety as an issue to be managed reactively—an unfortunate side effect of programmatic complexity rather than a fundamental responsibility. But the reality is stark: every misplaced ad, every brand inadvertently funding harmful content, is a failure of our industry to uphold trust and integrity. Jonas Jaanimagi – IAB Australia's tech lead, explains more.
The recent Adalytics report on ad tech vendors serving ads on a website that hosts child sexual abuse material (CSAM) put the industry on notice.
The time for excuses is over. Brand safety isn’t a box to be checked; it’s a commitment that must be embedded into every stage of the supply chain. And we need the whole industry to step up.
Jonas Jaanimagi
The lessons we should have learned by now
The challenges of brand safety are not new. I vividly recall the chaos of 11th September 2001, when my trafficking team had no choice but to shut down all campaigns for 48 hours, running only house ads to avoid placing brands next to distressing content. It was a blunt-force solution, but in the absence of sophisticated tools, it was the best we could do.
Fast-forward more than two decades, and while our technology has advanced dramatically, the core issue remains the same. To be clear, this is not a technological failure—it is a failure of responsibility. The tools exist to mitigate these risks, but they are only as effective as the people using them. If brand safety is still being treated as an afterthought, that is a choice, not an inevitability.
Shared responsibility requires real action
Brand safety is not the sole responsibility of advertisers or agencies or technology vendors. It is an industry-wide obligation. The Australian Digital Advertising Practices (ADAPs), developed by IAB Australia in conjunction with the MFA and AANA, have long emphasised the need for shared responsibility and outlined clear transparency standards. These principles and transparency practices should not be aspirational—they should be standard.
Here’s what that looks like in action:
Brands must establish and enforce a framework. Every advertiser needs a robust Brand Safety & Suitability Framework that goes beyond generic keyword blocklists to ensure that ads are placed in environments that align with your brand values, reputation and values while avoiding harmful, inappropriate, or poor-quality content. Such a framework can help mitigate risks and optimise ad placements for both safety and relevance. It should include a ‘brand safety floor’ which clearly defines the absolute minimum standard for acceptable content—and aligns brand suitability measures with their unique values and audience expectations.
Review your technology partners. Be prepared to fully, and regularly, review which ad verification technology vendors and contextual solutions you are using, what is available and ensure you understand each vendors pros and cons. Any vendors you consider should be accredited and meet the relevant MRC industry measurement standards. Regular review is required to ensure any technical solutions you run are configured to run seamlessly particularly if you are running any domain level protection software or web application firewalls.
Demand transparency with commercial partners.
Insist on absolute transparency in terms of where ad inventory may be appearing as well as any commercial arrangements or incentives that are in place. At a minimum demand that your commercial partners comply with the relevant standards and specs for programmatic transparency and follow industry best practices. The days of blind buying should be over. Failure to address gaps will undermine accountability and may expose brands to extremely negative consequences.
Humans must remain at the centre.
While automation is a powerful enabler, it is no substitute for human oversight. Brand safety requires experienced professionals who can interpret data, refine strategies, and ensure that safeguards are functioning effectively. No solution is ‘set and forget’—continuous monitoring and iterative improvements are essential to maintaining high media quality.
The industry’s accountability moment
The excuses for inaction have run out. The tools exist. The risks are well-documented. The responsibility is clear. If we fail to take brand safety seriously, we are not just endangering individual brands—we are eroding trust in the entire digital advertising ecosystem.
As an industry, we must stop reacting and start taking proactive responsibility. That means moving beyond lip service and implementing real, enforceable standards. It means putting brand safety at the heart of every campaign, every buy, and every platform decision. And most importantly, it means holding ourselves accountable—not just when things go wrong, but every single day.
Because if we don’t take brand safety seriously, why should anyone take us seriously at all?
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Solid advice from a smart, trusted & experienced voice. Brands need to more closely review how their money is spent and where they end up. Pretty basic really, given the tools available but the push for margins and profits from involved partners keep tripping them up.
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Sound advice from a smart, experienced voice. Brands need to review how they money is spent and when profits are being taken in sacrifice for their brand safety by partners. The tools are out there.
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This would not be a problem in 2025 if ‘brands’ did not entangle themselves into political, social and activism issues. Stay in your lane, the ‘brand’ lane.
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