Google will no longer allow political ads to target users based on their political affiliations.
The tech giant announced the changes, which will apply globally, as public concerns around political advertising on digital platforms continues.
The new changes mean election ads can only target along the general categories of age, gender and general location (postcode level). Political advertisers will still be able to carry out contextual targeting, such as serving people ads based on topics they follow, such as the economy.
In a blog post, vice president of product management at Google Ads Scott Spencer, says it hopes to improve voters’ confidence in the ads they see on the platform.
“This will align our approach to election ads with long-established practices in media such as TV, radio, and print, and result in election ads being more widely seen and available for public discussion,” Spencer says.
The changes will be in place by next week in the UK, ahead of the general election and in the rest of the world by January 6.
“Whether you’re running for office or selling office furniture, we apply the same ads policies to everyone; there are no carve-outs,” Spencer says.
“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.”
The move places further pressure on Facebook to update its advertising policies. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced earlier this year it would not be fact-checking political ads running on its platform.
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