Google intends to prohibit advertisers from running ads related to the US presidential election after the polls close on November 5th. As reported by Axios, this marks the second occasion on which Google has implemented such a ban after first doing so during the 2020 election.
The tech company has stated that the policy is being reinstated this year “out of an abundance of caution and to limit the potential for confusion, given the likelihood that votes will continue to be counted after Election Day.”
In the 2020 presidential election, it took several days for President Biden’s victory to be confirmed, partly due to a surge in postal voting during the pandemic. Google’s policy applies to any US election-related ads or those that reference the US elections running through its platforms, including Google Ads, YouTube, Shopping ads, and others.
Similarly, Meta is also implementing a restriction on new political ads during the final week of the US election campaign, as it did in 2020. Additionally, it is requiring advertisers to disclose the use of AI or other digital methods to modify ads.
