Google Suspends 2.9 Mn Ad Accounts In India Citing Policy Violation

Alphabet-owned Google said it removed 247.4 Mn advertisements and suspended nearly 2.9 Mn advertiser accounts in India last year for violating its advertisement policy.

Globally, the tech giant suspended over 39.2 Mn advertiser accounts, restricted over 9.1 Bn ads and removed 5.1 Bn ads, Google said in its annual ads safety report.

In its report, the company said that the top five policy violations in the list were ads related to financial services, followed by issues involving trademark misuse, abuse of the ad network, personalised advertising practices and gambling and games-related content.

The report also highlights how Google is leveraging advanced artificial intelligence tools to detect these scams and block misleading ads. In 2024 alone, the tech major deployed its AI-powered models to detect and enforce 97% of the pages to expedite website reviews, while also enabling quick monetisation, besides keeping ads from appearing on violative pages.

“Our policies are designed to support a safe and positive experience for our users, which is why we prohibit content that we believe to be harmful to users and the overall advertising ecosystem,” Google said.

Two days back, the Karnataka High Court directed Google India and its three senior executives to deposit half of the fines imposed by the Enforcement Directorate for allegedly flouting forex rules. 

The company is also being probed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for abusing its dominant position in the app store and digital advertising markets.

This also comes at a time when the Centre has been taking measures to standardise and regulate contents, ensuring accountability in media practices.

In February, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) asked Google and other social media platforms to remove specific content or applications that facilitate users in committing offences under the Telecommunications Act, 2023.

In September last year, the MeitY also mandated social media platforms to release their monthly compliance reports, under the Information Technology Rules 2021, disclosing complaints received, actions taken and content removed or blocked through automated monitoring, and to submit the report by the 10th of each month.

Meanwhile, Meta-owned WhatsApp blocked over 84.58 Lakh Indian accounts in August 2024, according to its monthly transparency report, on violations of its terms of service, grievances from local users and orders received from the grievance appellate committee (GAC).