Google Temporarily Halts Political Ads Ahead of Biden Inauguration Ceremony

Inauguration, protests, impeachment, and assemblies are also prohibited from mention

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The world's largest search engine, Google, will suspend political advertisements for the time being ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. This measure was taken following the U.S. Capitol riot and the subsequent impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

According to CNBC on the 13th (local time), starting from the 14th, Google will completely halt all political advertisements as well as ads that mention or imply the inauguration, protests, impeachment, or gatherings at the federal Capitol.

In a statement released that day, Google said, "We are temporarily suspending ads related to unpredictable and sensitive events when they could be used to amplify misinformation," adding, "We have long maintained policies to block content that promotes violence or hate."

They further stated, "We will be vigilant in enforcing ad policies that violate our guidelines."

Google also emphasized that there will be no exceptions for news or commercial advertisements.

According to Google's regulations, advertisers are prohibited from running ads that mention election candidates, elections, election results, Biden's inauguration, presidential impeachment proceedings, the Capitol riot, or planned protests.

This policy will be broadly applied not only to Google but also to platforms like YouTube.

Google also noted that, under related regulations, ads that promote hate or incite violence are banned.

In an email sent to advertisers, Google stated that these content regulations will be enforced at least until the day after the presidential inauguration, January 21.

On the previous day, the 12th, Google suspended President Trump's YouTube account. Additionally, after the U.S. presidential election, Google temporarily halted election-related ads for about a month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.