Google is set to ban all cryptocurrency-related advertising starting in June 2018, according to a recent update to their Financial Services policy.
The news of a crypto ad ban comes just days after crypto advertisers using Google AdWords noticed a drastic drop in the number of views of their advertisements and decrease in revenue, according to posts on the AdWords support pages. However, Google AdWords had at that time denied any change in their Financial Services regulations that would block cryptocurrency or Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) related advertisements.
Under Google’s newly updated Financial Services policy, no advertisements for “cryptocurrencies and related content (including but not limited to ICOs, foreign cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency wallets, and cryptocurrency trading advice),” will be allowed on the advertising network.
The move affects all of Google’s ad products, as well as third-party sites in its network, meaning start-up companies will not be able to serve crypto-related ads on the search engine or its partners.
Scott Spencer, the Director of Sustainable Ads at Google, told CNBC today, March 14:
“We don’t have a crystal ball to know where the future is going to go with cryptocurrencies, but we’ve seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it’s an area that we want to approach with extreme caution,” Spencer said.
In January, earlier this year, Facebook another huge Silicon Valley company also banned crypto-related advertisements, citing the potential for “deceptive promotional practices.”
Google claims it is expanding that effort to “tackle emerging threats.”
In a blogpost, Spencer followed up on his comments:
“As consumer trends evolve, as our methods to protect the open web get better, so do online scams,” Spencer said. “Improving the ads experience across the web, whether that’s removing harmful ads or intrusive ads, will continue to be a top priority for us.”
In light of Google choosing to ban cryptocurrency advertisements, it may be time to seek out alternative solutions for your search, maybe in the same cryptocurrency space like Presearch.
Bitcoin is currently trading at [FIAT: $8,781.62] according to Coin Market Cap at the time of this report.
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