Google released its annual “Advertising Security Report”, showing some of the data on its advertising business. In 2020, Google added or updated more than 40 policies for advertisers and publishers. The company also blocked or removed approximately 3.1 billion ads that violated its policies.
The report claims that these advertising restrictions help Google to comply with regional and local laws. Google’s certification program adopts corresponding implementation methods necessary to ensure that advertisements are on display only when they are suitable for placement and these adverts have to be legal and comply with regulatory requirements.
Google continues to invest in automatic detection technology to scan webpages on a large scale to determine whether they comply with publisher policies. In 2020, ads were removed from 1.3 billion publisher webpages, 160 million more than in 2019. This removal affects thousands of publishers. While some of them are severe, other violations are not too severe. Some of these publishers have stopped advertising on Google.
As of last year, Google blocked over 99 million advertisements concerning the coronavirus. This included adverts promoting “magic medicine” for COVID-19 and N95 masks while in short supply.
At the same time, the number of advertising accounts disabled by Google increased by 70%, from 1 million to 1.7 million. Google said that in the coming year, it will continue to invest in policies, expert teams, and execution technology to prevent potential threats in advance. The majority of users disclose more information about the advertising experience.
These apart, Google is facing several legal challenges for users’ privacy. Users believe that Google is obtaining users’ information without their permission even on incognito mode, Google still keeps obtaining a big amount of user data.
