The appearance of any big brand’s ads on websites that the brand has specifically blocked is one of a brand’s biggest nightmares. That could include specifically blacklisted sites—like Breitbart—or any category of generally controversial site, like sites in countries sanctioned by the government, sites featuring hardcore pornography, or sites containing pirated content.

According to an Adalytics report, the Google Search Partner Network (SPN) has allegedly been putting brands at risk of all of these undesirable placements without advertisers fully realizing the dangers. Adalytics researchers reported finding Google search ads for top brands and government agencies displaying on hundreds of undesirable websites.

Among those impacted were big brands—like Amazon, Apple, BMW, Home Depot, Lego, Meta, Microsoft, Paramount+, Samsung, and Uber—and top government entities including the US Treasury and the European Commission. Ads from nonprofits like the American Cancer Society and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, as well as major media outlets like The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal were also found on illegal or adult sites.

Plus, “several chocolate, soda, and alcohol brands and alcohol distributors had their search ads served on websites intended for children,” Adalytics noted. And brands that have specifically blacklisted Breitbart since 2017 unwittingly had their search ads displayed on the controversial right-wing site as recently as November 2023, Adalytics found.

Any clicks on these ads could potentially result in revenue-sharing opportunities, meaning big brands may be partly funding some of the questionable sites flagged by Adalytics.

Currently, Google “doesn’t provide information detailing the website where your ad was shown on the Search Network” or “on which websites” in the SPN where “ads were shown.”

Adalytics began investigating the issue after a Fortune 500 brand realized that it had wrongly believed its search ads were only appearing on Google’s search engine. When the brand discovered that its search ads were also appearing on websites in the SPN using Google search, the brand turned to Adalytics to help identify any risks for brand safety.

To determine roughly how seedy the SPN might be, Adalytics relied on open source data and web crawlers to flag search ads displayed on 7.2 million sites. Adalytics also consulted with brands and agencies it regularly partners with to reveal more insights into Google’s shadowy ad placements.

According to MediaPost, it has been estimated that the SPN “generates about $10.5 billion annually” for Google, while requiring advertisers to “acknowledge that our policies meet any image and reputation standards you may have for your company” before creating an ad campaign in its Search Network.

Now, advertisers who feel there’s no way to truly know if Google is meeting their brand safety standards are demanding more transparency from Google. Ideally, moving forward, they’d like access to data confirming where exactly their search ads have been displayed.

Ads still appearing on questionable sites

Perhaps most alarmingly to some advertisers were search ads being displayed on sites in sanctioned countries like Russia and Iran. This raised the possibility that Google has been sharing ad revenue with those sites.

Google so far has denied that it’s a valid concern. Google told Ars that it is committed to complying with all applicable sanctions, and in a post on X, Google’s vice president of global ads, Dan Taylor, confirmed that Google will review Adalytics’ report. However, based on Google’s “analysis of the sites and limited information already shared,” Taylor said that Google “did not identify ad revenue being shared with a single sanctioned entity.”

Adalytics’ report included a disclaimer that its “study does not allege that any entities violated US Treasury or international sanctions or any other anti-money laundering (AML) laws.”

Although Taylor said that Google was skeptical of Adalytics for previously publishing allegedly “inaccurate reports,” Google appears to already be acting on some of Adalytics’ findings.

According to Google, the company has already taken appropriate action on the adult websites flagged in Analytics’ report.

But Ars searched for brands like the US Coast Guard, Nike, and Conde Nast on two of the adult sites highlighted in Adalytics’ report and found that both sites are still currently displaying search ads.

Google is currently reviewing those links.