Google Ads is no longer allowing ads in its search network and other ad networks for products or services that promote speculative and/or experimental medical treatments. This includes Stem cell therapy, cellular (non-stem) therapy, gene therapy, and similar forms of regenerative medicine, platelet rich plasma, biohacking, do-it-yourself (DIY) genetic engineering products, and gene therapy kits.
Google updated its health and medicine ad policy over the weekend to say that starting in October 2019 it will disallow such ads.
Google posted about this in its help center saying "Today, we’re announcing a new Healthcare and medicines policy to prohibit advertising for unproven or experimental medical techniques such as most stem cell therapy, cellular (non-stem) therapy, and gene therapy. This new policy will prohibit ads selling treatments that have no established biomedical or scientific basis. The new policy also includes treatments that are rooted in basic scientific findings and preliminary clinical experience, but currently have insufficient formal clinical testing to justify widespread clinical use. We know that important medical discoveries often start as unproven ideas -- and we believe that monitored, regulated clinical trials are the most reliable way to test and prove important medical advances. At the same time, we have seen a rise in bad actors attempting to take advantage of individuals by offering untested, deceptive treatments. Often times, these treatments can lead to dangerous health outcomes and we feel they have no place on our platforms."
This got a lot of buzz on Techmeme as well over the weekend.
Forum discussion at Twitter.
