Brand Safety Shifts Markedly in 2025

New Approaches for Platforms, Advertisers, and Creators

Major social platforms are undergoing significant transformations in their management of Brand Safety under the new Administration.  These shifts will have a broad impact on brand safety policy and management, reshaping the brand safety conversation for advertisers in considerable ways. Meta’s recent policy shift to loosen content restrictions reflects a broader push for free expression – widening the range for a more partisan view on key and sensitive topics, forcing brands and companies to carefully choose how they align with content – some of which may have been avoided in the past. For brands, this new landscape introduces new challenges. While Meta reassures advertisers of its commitment to brand safety, the emphasis has shifted from platform-led moderation to a greater onus on advertiser-controlled safeguards - putting more responsibility on brands to manage their ad placements while ensuring they do not appear alongside undesirable content. In the absence of industry collaboration and a centralized framework, practitioners face a confusing and tenuous road, relying on fragmented policies that vary by platform while struggling to keep pace with evolving risks.

Simultaneously, content creators continue to gain a stronger foothold, with collectives like AMP redefining how audiences engage with sponsored content. With millions of followers and direct partnerships with brands, these creators can now operate with greater latitude where brand safety is a function of individual accountability rather than platform oversight. This shift underscores the need for advertisers to be more discerning in their partnerships, prioritizing alignment with creators who uphold their values while navigating the unpredictability of influencer-driven content.

Adding to this shifting landscape, recent federal actions rolling back DEI initiatives introduce new stumbling blocks for brands committed to diversity and inclusion. The elimination of government-backed DEI programs may have ripple effects across corporate policies, potentially shifting public sentiment and brand expectations. As companies reassess their approaches, the challenge lies in balancing new federal pressures with brand values for representation and inclusivity to meet consumer expectations.

All this has led some to posit that the era of brand safety is in an awkward quagmire, or at least that brand safety is on pause. That is a hard pill to swallow given the progress in recent years and how relatively young the concepts, framework, and execution of brand safety still are. Nevertheless, heading into 2025, brand safety strategies will require greater adaptability. Advertisers must take a more solitary stance, wrangling their trepidation – hopefully leveraging improved AI-driven content solutions, refining contextual targeting, and strengthening partnerships with creators who now have less restriction. With social platforms redefining moderation policies and external political shifts influencing brand perception, maintaining a safe and value-aligned advertising strategy is more complex than ever.