Google will ‘pause’ political ads for now

Google suspended political advertising, trying to tamp down the risk of inciting violence and promoting hatred in the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.

The policy will be in effect from Thursday to at least Jan. 21, the day after Biden becomes president, the Alphabet Inc. unit said Wednesday in a letter to advertisers. There are no exceptions for news or merchandise advertisers.

“We regularly pause ads over unpredictable, ‘sensitive’ events when ads can be used to exploit the event or amplify misleading information,” a spokeswoman wrote in an email.