Google will begin to provide users with more information about who is running the ads they see. The company’s “About this ad” menu will display basic information about the advertiser, as well as any other ads they have placed in the past 30 days. Its purpose is to help users better judge whether a particular ad buyer is trustworthy. People have previously criticized fraud on the platform.
Google mentioned last year that more advertising information will be disclosed when it began to verify the identities and locations of all advertisers. (The company stated that it has begun to verify advertisers in 90 countries, but the disclosure option will only be launched in the United States in the next few months, and then expand to more countries in 2022).
The screenshot shows that the advertiser information currently available is very basic. It provides you with the legal name of the advertiser, the country where they are located, the approximate number of advertisements they are running, and the list of advertisements. Currently, users can see To search and advertising campaign information on YouTube.
Facebook, which is leading online advertising with Google, provides similar functions through a database where users can view all the ads running on Facebook and Instagram. Google had previously provided a database of advertisers, but it focused on political advertising.
In the case of reports of the proliferation of fraud and false advertising lists on Google and Facebook, Google implemented advertising verification. A recent report in the United Kingdom stated that the two companies still failed to remove many ads that led users to fraudulent websites.
Some crooks even target Google Maps and publish false business listings. Now, it should be easier to report ads that violate Google’s policies, and Google promises to have a dedicated team member to review whether it complies with the regulations.
