Content Standards

The following Content Guidelines have been developed using a combination of industry best practice, independent research, relevant legislation, and common sense. These guidelines help to inform the APMC Content QA team of how best to handle and identify potentially problematic content submissions.

Our guidelines for content on our kids and family service is more restrictive.

This document is a living document and may be updated from time to time depending on a myriad of factors including (but not limited to) changes in legislation, best practice, and user feedback. QA personnel are expected to use this document to more accurately determine the appropriateness of content, however this document also covers several subjective factors. It’s encouraged that if ever in doubt, QA should collaborate with teammates or solicit the guidance of managers.

These Guidelines will be reviewed April and October of every year.

Unacceptable Depictions Across All Our Services

Some content may be inappropriate without specifically violating any of the Prohibited Themes below. QA Verifiers are required to qualitatively assess the content.

These guidelines should always be taken into consideration.

Creatives must not:

Condone any form of discrimination. This includes discriminating based upon race, nationality, religion, sex or age.

Appear in a realistic manner to condone or incite violence; nor appear to condone or directly encourage bullying.

Demean, denigrate or disparage any identifiable person, group of persons, firm, organization, industrial or commercial activity, profession, product or service or attempt to bring it or them into public contempt or ridicule.

Undermine human dignity.

Encourage or portray a range of values that are not consistent with the moral, ethical or legal standards of contemporary North American society.

Subjective Cases

Some content may not overtly break any of the above tenets but may instead fall into a grey area. If this is the case, we ask QA Reviewers to ask themselves if this content would be appropriate for a viewer of any age. If the answer is “no” then we reject the content. Edge cases should always be handled conservatively. If there still is no clarity, we ask that QA Reviewers collaborate with others and ask their manager.

Prohibited Themes on our Kids and Family Services

All content will be reviewed to check the contents for age, quality, and content appropriateness. Content that is sensitive to show to users under the age of 13 are prohibited on our kids and family service, but may be allowed on our other services as long as they are deemed appropriate for our audience.

General examples of content prohibited on our kids and family service include:

Alcohol

Content featuring alcoholic products is prohibited. Content featuring products that show or imply alcohol, drinking, or drunkenness are also prohibited.

Tobacco and Cannabis

Content depicting tobacco, cannabis, and smoking of any kind is prohibited.

Beauty and Fitness 

Content related to external weight-loss, and diet is prohibited.

Dating or Relationship

Content featuring dating sites, family counseling, and marital or divorce services are prohibited.

Food and Beverages

Content focused on food and drinks that do not include nutritional values are restricted. Content only featuring “fast food”, “junk food”, or items with high caffeine content would not be permitted.

Gambling

Content related to or showing gambling, casinos, or sports betting are prohibited.

Pharma and Medical Content

Content for pharmaceutical products, medical procedures, or that might otherwise contain themes of serious illness or death are prohibited.

Political Content

Political content of any kind is prohibited, including information about political candidates or their policy positions, political parties, fundraising or political action committees or their agendas.

Religious Content

Religious content of any kind is prohibited.

Scary Content

Any content that might be generally scary or distressing for children is prohibited.

Sexually Suggestive or Mature Content

Content that is sexual in nature or deals with mature content (intended for adult audiences).

Hazardous or Dangerous

Content that showcases hazardous, dangerous, or inappropriate materials or the depiction of clearly unsafe activities. If it requires adult supervision, it is not appropriate.

Misleading and Deceptive Claims

Content cannot be misleading to children and make any deceptive and/or unsubstantiated claims. All claims and assertions need to be substantiated within the video itself.

Content cannot imply that a product or service will improve social status.

Content cannot include features or call-to-actions that don’t work or where the desired action can’t be completed.

Violence

Violent and graphic material is prohibited.

Imply that possession or use of a product makes the owner superior or that without it a child will be open to ridicule or contempt. Note: This prohibition does not apply to true statements regarding educational or health benefits.

Undue Pressure

Content that is directed at children must have a higher standard. As such the content must avoid undue pressure.

Directly urge children to purchase or urge them to ask their parents to make inquiries or purchases.

Include direct response techniques that invite children to purchase products or services by mail (including electronic mail) or telephone.