Google changes political adverts policy but will take action in limited number of cases
Google updated its handling of political advertisements as online platforms come under pressure to avoid being used to spread misleading information intended to influence voters.
The internet company said its rules already ban any advertiser, including those with political messages, from lying in advertisements. But it is making its policy clearer and adding examples of how that prohibits content such as doctored images or video.
“It’s against our policies for any advertiser to make a false claim – whether it’s a claim about the price of a chair or a claim that you can vote by text message, that election day is postponed or that a candidate has died,” Google Ads product management vice president Scott Spencer said.
Examples of banned material includes advertisements or links to information making demonstrably false claims that could undermine voter trust or participation in elections.
“Of course, we recognise that robust political dialogue is an important part of democracy, and no one can sensibly adjudicate every political claim, counterclaim and insinuation,” Mr Spencer said.
“So we expect that the number of political ads on which we take action will be very limited – but we will continue to do so for clear violations.”
Google’s main formats for political advertising are advertisements posted with search query results, those on video service YouTube and display advertisements on websites.
Google will also limit the targeting of audiences based on age, gender or postcode.
“Political advertisers can, of course, continue to do contextual targeting, such as serving ads to people reading or watching a story about, say, the economy,” Mr Spencer said. “This will align our approach to election ads with long-established practices in media such as TV, radio and print.”
Google will begin enforcing the changes in Britain within a week and throughout the EU by the end of the year, then in the rest of the world starting on January 6.
Google said its rules already ban advertisers, including those with political messages, from lying in advertisements