Tech Giant Google has announced plans to block election ads after polls have closed in the November 3rd US Election.
The announcement was contained in Email sent to advertisers by Google’s Parent Company, Alphabet Inc. on Friday.
“Advertisers will not be able to run ads referencing candidates, the election, or its outcome, given that an unprecedented amount of votes will be counted after Election Day this year.”
Google said further in the email that it would ban election ads that mention state or federal office holders, candidates and political parties. The company is also targeting ads that pop up during election related search queries.
The decision has come on the backdrop of pressure on social media companies to police political ads for potential misinformation. Earlier in the week, Facebook also said it would stop accepting political ads on its platforms one week before the election.
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A spokesperson for Google said the ban would be in place for a minimum of one week but no plans have been made for what comes after. She said the Google would take the time spent on ballot counting and potential civil unrest into consideration in its decision making process.
The ban which forms part of the tech giant’s sensitive events policy will apply on all of its ad-serving platform including YouTube.