Google updated its Google Ads sensitive events content policy to prohibit ads that potentially profit from a sensitive event and ads that claim victims of a sensitive event were responsible for their own tragedy. This policy goes into effect on October 1, 2020.
- Ads that potentially profit from a sensitive event with significant social, cultural, or political impact, such as civil emergencies, natural disasters, public health emergencies, terrorism and related activities, conflict, and/or mass acts of violence. The example Google gave includes ads that appear to profit from a tragic event with no discernible benefit to users; price gouging or artificially inflating prices that prohibits/restricts access to vital supplies; sale of products or services which may be insufficient for the demand during a sensitive event; using keywords related to a sensitive event to attempt to drive additional traffic.
- Ads that claim victims of a sensitive event were responsible for their own tragedy or similar instances of victim blaming; ads that claim victims of a sensitive event are not deserving of remedy or support. The example Google gave includes ads which claim victims from certain countries were responsible or deserving of a global public health crisis
The new policy will be in effect starting from October 1st, 2020.
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