Hulu ads

Advertisers operate on Hulu with no public scrutiny. [ * * * Mozilla * * * ]( Political advertisers are bombarding voters in Georgia with ads on Hulu, but researchers and watchdogs have no way to know what they’re spending, who they’re targeting, or what their message is. Tell Hulu: Release a public ad library. [Sign the Petition]( Hello, For most Americans, the 2020 election season ended on November 3rd, but not for voters in Georgia. With two run-off elections on January 5th, the outcomes of which will decide control of the U.S. Senate, political advertisers are pouring millions of dollars into the state.1 And since Facebook and Google still have a post-election political ad ban in place, there aren't many options for online advertisers other than video streaming platforms like Hulu. But Hulu, unlike Facebook and Google, does not offer up any kind of ad transparency tools or libraries for voters or researchers.2 FEC filings show that Hulu has been one of the biggest recipients of political ad money, but unlike its cable and broadcast counterparts, Hulu is not required to disclose any information about those ads.3 In other words: We know Georgia voters are seeing all kinds of political ads on Hulu but there's zero transparency about what they are being shown. We need to change that. [Take Action]( Only 5% of Americans understand there are different rules for political ads that run on streaming TV versus cable TV, and so the vast majority of Georgia voters don't know that the ads they're seeing on Hulu are likely microtargeted to them, and that Hulu doesn't have to disclose who's backing the ads.4 In September, Mozilla published research into political advertising on [six major U.S. streaming platforms](. Our biggest takeaway? There is almost no transparency into what kinds of political ads are running and how they're being targeted. It turns out political advertisers agree with our findings, but rather than seeing a problem, they see an opportunity. According to Lindsey Kolb, a VP of Digital Strategy at Rational 360, "One of the best parts of running ads through programmatic or OTT vendors is that you can get around the political ad transparency rules or bans on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram."5 What's more, [our research suggests]( that streaming platforms are notoriously opaque about advertising spending. Unless advertisers themselves disclose their spending — and many of them are dark money groups that refuse to — researchers and watchdogs can only guess about ad spend.6 It's clear that advertisers are taking advantage of these legal loopholes and policy blindspots on streaming platforms. As one of the most popular streaming platforms, Hulu needs to step up — and quickly. [Add your name]( Since we published our research, both Roku and Comcast have released their own basic interim transparency documents — which makes Hulu's decision not to disclose any ad data at all more worrying. That's why we're calling on Hulu to release an ad archive as soon as possible that provides the following information: who paid for the ad, how much was spent, how it was targeted to viewer audiences, and a link to the video. Next year, we will continue to push platforms to release more accessible, comprehensive ad libraries that allow for large scale analysis, but for now it's crucial that Hulu take immediate steps to release an ad library while the Georgia election is ongoing. [Sign the Petition]( Thank you for speaking out, Kaili, Becca and the Mozilla Team References - Krystle Holleman, "[GA runoff spending tops $300 million]( WILX News, Dec 2, 2020 - Mozilla, "[Facebook and Google: This is What an Effective Ad Archive API Looks Like]( Mozilla blog, March 27, 2019 - Issie Lapowsky, "[Republicans are flooding the Georgia runoffs with millions of dollars in digital dark ads]( Protocol, Nov 24, 2020 - Kaili Lambe, "[Americans unsure how political ads on streaming TV can target them, what disclosure rules apply]( Mozilla blog, Nov 30, 2020 - Sean J. Miller, "[Study Knocks OTT Streamers for Transparency, But Political Ad Buyers See Opportunity]( Campaigns & Elections, Sept 28, 2020 - Issie Lapowsky, "[Big tech's ad rules leave plenty of room for dark money to hide]( Protocol, April 8, 2020 Connect with us [YouTube]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( Thanks for reading! You're receiving this email because we think you’re neat, AND you subscribed to hear from us. If our emails aren’t sparking joy, we’ll understand if you [unsubscribe.]( You can also [update your email preferences]( at any time. [Mozilla]( [Donate to Mozilla]( | [Download Firefox]( 331 E. Evelyn Avenue Mountain View CA 94041 [Legal]( • [Privacy](