The Communications Authority has adopted two separate orders-injunctions, which sanction, overall, for 1 million and 450 thousand euros the companies Google Ireland Limited (750,000 euros) which controls Youtube and Top Ads ltd, (700,000 euros) , for the violation of
the gambling advertising prohibition
sanctioned by art.
9 of the Dignity decree.
The Authority announces this, underlining that this is the first measure adopted by the Authority against a video sharing service provider for allowing the dissemination of prohibited advertising, which concerns games with cash prizes.
The legislation, Agcom explains in the note, identifies the owner of the vehicle or site of diffusion or destination and organizer of the exhibition, event or activity as responsible for the unlawful conduct and recipients of sanctions.
The preliminary evidence ascertained the violation of the rule both by the subject / creator (the company Top Ads ltd through its website and its Spike channels on YouTube), and by YouTube, a subsidiary of Google.
The Authority, as regards the sanction imposed on Google (already the recipient of a previous injunction order for a total of € 100,000 for the violation of the same prohibition), explains that YouTube was held responsible "for not having taken any initiative for the removal of illegal content massively disseminated on its platform by a third party (Spike), with whom it has entered into a specific partnership contract, recognizing that person the status of "verified partner".
In addition to the pecuniary administrative sanction, the Authority ordered the removal of 625 illegal content still present on the YouTube platform as well as on the spikeslot.com site within a period of seven days, and, for the first time, inhibited the dissemination and uploading. of videos with similar violent content, in line with the most recent rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union