l’AGCOM has sanctioned google And TOP ADS LTD for 1.45 million euros. The authorities accused the two companies of violating the ban on gambling ads, as sanctioned by art. 9 of the Legislative Decree n. 87/218.
The provision refers not so much to so-called pre-roll ads, i.e. ads that are generally automatically shown before the start of a video, as to the content of a specific YouTube channel, called Peak. At the time of writing this news, the channel is no longer accessible from Italy, but some of the channel’s videos are still being indexed by the Google search engine.
As stated by the same authority, this is the first such measure against a video sharing platform. For the first time, a platform designed for video sharing was sanctioned for hosting the promotion of games with money winningsin violation of the law that came into effect in 2018, the so-called Dignity Decree.
It is worth emphasizing that the law penalizes not only the advertiser, but also the owner of the medium, ie the site used to distribute the ads. It’s worth it because – as has been reported for months by both the press and the users of the platforms in question – gambling-related content has been exploding on sites like YouTube and Twitch for a few years now.
Distinguishing “real” videos from collaborations with undeclared advertising purposes is often extremely difficult. The importance of AGCOM could lead to pressure on gambling-related content. After all, if the risk is to pay six-zero fines on a cyclical basis, perhaps Google and Amazon should ignore them completely. gamble obscuring any content that – often in a way that is not so hidden – can hide a scammer from casinos and online gambling companies.
In its ban, the authority points out that Google passively hosted the illegal ad content, without taking the minimum and appropriate measures necessary to limit the distribution of gambling ads. AGCOM highlights another fact: YouTube and Spike were linked by a partnership agreement, in which the content creator is a verified partner of the site — a qualifier, the latter, awarded to the content creators when certain results are achieved. .
AGCOM has ordered Google to block more than 625 content that it considers illegal. Such content should also be removed from the spikeslot.com site.
Source: Lega Nerd
