Google will pause state and local political ads in the state of Washington, according to an article appearing in GeekWire. That’s in response to a new campaign finance law that requires near “real-time disclosure of detailed information about election ads in response to public records requests.”
Here’s what Google said in its AdWords policy update:
Google does not believe it’s currently able to comply with the new rules and so is not running the ads. LinkedIn has made a similar decision, however globally. Its policy now reads: “Political ads are prohibited, including ads advocating for or against a particular candidate or ballot proposition, or otherwise intended to influence an election outcome.”
Bing also generally does not allow ads with “political and religious content.”
The Washington state law, mandating new political ad disclosures and transparency requirements, is an effort to:
This comes against the backdrop of “fake news” and election manipulation by outside and dark-money groups. The new Washington state rules require information about geotargeting, audience targeting and impressions, among other data. As indicated, the data must be contemporaneously available upon request.
Separately, Facebook and Google were sued this week by Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson for failing to comply with state records requirements for buyers of political ads. The state is seeking penalties, legal fees and injunctions against both Google and Facebook.
Contributing authors are invited to create content for Search Engine Land and are chosen for their expertise and contribution to the search community. Our contributors work under the oversight of the editorial staff and contributions are checked for quality and relevance to our readers. The opinions they express are their own.
