March 23 (Reuters) - U.S. healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson
Wireless carriers Verizon
Google has come under intense scrutiny for ads appearing alongside videos on YouTube carrying homophobic or anti-Semitic messages. The company on Tuesday vowed an overhaul of its practices.
Control over online ad placement has become a hot button for advertisers, with social networks and news aggregators coming under fire during and after the U.S. presidential election for spreading so-called fake news reports.
Advertisers have also sought to avoid having their brands appear beside content that they categorize as hate speech.
J&J said on Thursday it wanted to ensure that its product advertising did not appear on channels that promote "offensive content."
YouTube has been a key driver of growth for Google as its traditional business of search advertising matures. Google's net ad revenue worldwide from YouTube was $5.58 billion last year, according to New York-based research firm eMarketer.
YouTube was not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) ((natalie.grover@thomsonreuters.com)(;)(within U.S. +1 646 223 8780, outside U.S. +91 99 1694 7070)(; Reuters Messaging:)(natalie.grover.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))