Daryl Lee, global CEO of IPG Mediabrands, introduced the company’s 10 Media Responsibility Principles in an internal memo. “It is not enough for brand safety to be about protecting the brand—there must also be a commitment to protect the communities that a brand serves,” Lee said.

He explained that the principles were developed as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement and brands’ increased awareness of “the importance of making hate speech or incitement to violence in media unacceptable,” as well as “recent headlines around Facebook.”

Despite specifically mentioning Facebook, Lee explained that the principles were designed to be broad enough to apply across publishers, platforms and ad tech companies. They were developed in close contact with clients, and IPG Mediabrands is now working with clients on adapting the principles in alignment with their existing policies.

“By doing so, brands will be protecting themselves, as well as be part of protecting the communities that a brand serves,” he added.

The 10 Media Responsibility Principles are:

1. Promote Respect
2. Protect People
3. Diverse and Representative
4. Data Collection and Use
5. Children’s Wellbeing
6. No Hate Speech
7. No Misinformation/Disinformation
8. Enforce Policy
9. Advertising Transparency
10. Accountability

“We’re caught in a reactive moment right now. We want to turnt this into an ongoing, proactive conversation,” IPG Mediabrands global brand safety officer and UM chief digital officer Joshua Lowcock told Adweek. “Right now, the whole conversation feels like it’s politicized, when it shouldn’t be. Reinjecting some kind of value-based judgment where it fits with corporate values seems like an important next step of brand-safe conversations.”