We need strict liability on this front. Companies behind websites that embed ads that they didn't verify (and don't control) are complicit.

Liability is kind of wild and the fact that “the internet” washes it all away is wilder still.

In my state, which perhaps takes liability too far in the other direction, if I serve sober you a single beer, you proceed to visit a second bar, have ten shots of tequila in an hour, and kill a man driving home - I share equal liability as the tequila bar.

Perhaps there is a middle ground in this world where a firm that makes billions has to have some basic “Know Your Customer” systems to prevent abuse?

I have a feeling this is supposed to be mocking and showing that the liability might extend too far.

Either way, I agree with the literal interpretation. They should vet the ads they serve and are complicit in this mess if they serve ads through Google et al.