YouTube
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YouTube |
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| Industry | Online video platform; digital advertising |
| Country | United States |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Headquarters | San Bruno, California, United States |
| Parent company | |
| Status | Active |
| Verification |
Verified |
Overview
YouTube is a U.S.-based online video-sharing and streaming platform owned by Google (Alphabet Inc.), operating primarily through an advertising-supported model alongside paid subscription services. In 2025, multiple media outlets and advocacy organizations reported that YouTube carried paid recruitment advertisements for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of a broader Department of Homeland Security (DHS) digital recruitment campaign. These ads appeared as pre-roll and in-stream video advertisements. [1]
Boycott
YouTube is listed for boycott due to its role in distributing ICE recruitment advertisements and the resulting public backlash. Reporting in 2025 documented ICE recruitment ads running on YouTube videos, leading to criticism from users, content creators, and immigrant-rights organizations, with calls for advertiser pressure and user boycotts. [2]
Additional reporting described DHS allocating millions of dollars toward digital recruitment advertising across major platforms, with YouTube identified as one of the largest and most effective video distribution channels due to its reach and targeting capabilities. [3]
YouTube stated that the ads were lawful government recruitment placements served through Google’s advertising systems and permitted under platform advertising policies. Advocacy groups argued that hosting ICE recruitment advertising materially supports immigration enforcement agencies associated with detention, deportation, and civil-rights violations, and therefore warrants boycott inclusion. [1]
Background
ICE relies on large-scale recruitment campaigns to sustain enforcement and investigative operations. In recent years, these efforts have increasingly relied on digital video platforms to reach younger and broader audiences. ICE List documents platforms that host or distribute ICE recruitment advertising when such activity is publicly documented and linked to organized boycott campaigns. [1]