Google’s Hitting Pause on Political Ads—At Least for Now

Ads referencing “ candidate , the election , its outcome , the upcoming presidential inauguration , the ongoing presidential impeachment process , violence at the U.S. Capitol , or future plan protests on these topics , ” are off - limits for now , according to the electronic mail .

It ’s unreadable when Google will be planning on lifting this new prohibition . The companytold occupation Insiderthat it ’s not rare to pause advert “ over unpredictable , ‘ raw ’ events when ads can be used to exploit the event or amplify misleading information . ” It bestow that , “ beyond this , we have long - standing insurance block contentedness that incites violence or promotes hate and we will be highly vigilant about apply on any ad that span this line . ”

One of the wrinkles in enforcing this special rule is that determining whether an ad “ incites violence ” is n’t always as clear cutting as you ’d think . For case , earlier this workweek Buzzfeed newsreportedthat Facebook was serve ads for tactical gear — organic structure armor , rifle enhancements , and the like — specifically towards multitude that trace pages related to radical content .