Google Releases 2023 Ads Safety Report
Google has tightened its advertising rules in response to rising online scams and election misinformation. The company introduced new policies in 2023 to combat fraud and improve transparency. These changes include stricter verification for election ads and broader restrictions on misleading content.
Last year, Google blocked or removed 5.5 billion ads for violating its policies. The most common issues involved abuse of its ad network, trademark infringements, and unauthorised personalised ads. Scams and fraud across online platforms also surged, prompting the company to take stronger action.
The tech giant updated its Misrepresentation Policy to ban impersonation and false affiliation in advertisements. It also launched the Limited Ads Serving Policy, which restricts new advertisers until they prove compliance with the rules. For election-related ads, Google verified over 5,000 new advertisers while removing more than 7.3 million ads from unverified sources. The company now requires election advertisers to disclose who paid for the ad and whether synthetic content was used. Additionally, ads making demonstrably false election claims are prohibited.
The new measures aim to reduce fraud and misinformation in online advertising. Google’s stricter verification and disclosure rules apply to both general and political ads. These steps follow a year of increased enforcement, with billions of ads removed for policy violations.
