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Under-regulated digital advertising market incentivises and monetises harmful content, often without advertisers' knowledge.

Conclusion
The global digital advertising market is overcomplicated, opaque and under-regulated, operating through an enormous, automated and inaccessible supply chain. This directly leads to the production, viral spread and monetisation of harmful and deceptive content, often without advertisers’ knowledge. Platforms and advertisers appear to be either unable or unwilling to address this problem. We heard evidence that platforms may have profited from misinformation and hateful content after the Southport attack. (Conclusion, Paragraph 95)
Government Response

A response document is linked to this report, dated 17 October 2025. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document.

Addressee Bodies
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Timeline
Recommendation age 1.2 yr
Report published 11 Jul 2025