Google to make all advertisers verify their identities for better transparency
Google in a blog post stated that all advertisers will now be required to verify their identities and country of origin. This was done for political ads in 2018.
In Short
- Google will verify the identity of all advertisers who are putting up ads on the platform.
- This move comes after a lot of fake ads were put up on the internet for coronavirus cures and treatment.
- Users can see the information about the advertisers by clicking on "about the advertiser".
Google will become more stringent where advertisements on the platform are concerned. It will verify all advertisers putting ads on the platform. Users will see disclosures with ads on Google. This development will first come to the US and will gradually be rolled out worldwide.
John Canfield, Google's ads integrity chief, in a blogpost said, "As part of this initiative, advertisers will be required to complete a verification program to buy ads on our network."
This development is being brought about for more transparency. Initially, ad-verification was only limited to political ads. Google helped verify these ads in over 30 countries in 2018, the blogpost notes.
Google’s move also comes with growing fake ads and misinformation on the internet about coronavirus, its cure, and treatment.
"To provide greater transparency and equip users with more information about who is advertising to them, we are extending identity verification to all advertisers on our platforms," Canfield stated.
Before running an ad, buyers will have to provide their identification and business incorporation documents. The documents should provide their country of origin and personal identity.
"Advertisers will need to submit personal identification, business incorporation documents, or other information that proves who they are and the country in which they operate."
Users can see the advertiser's identity by clicking on "about the advertiser." they can get this by clicking on "why this advertisement."
This change is intended to make it easier for the people to understand who the advertiser is behind the ads they see from Google and help them make more informed decisions when using advertising controls.
"It will also help support the health of the digital advertising ecosystem by detecting bad actors and limiting their attempts to misrepresent themselves."
Google will start by verifying advertisers in phases in the US and continue to expand globally.
Canfield said that it will take a few years for the process to complete.
“Because we are working closely with our advertising partners to scale the program while continuing to ensure we are surfacing helpful information to our users, we expect that this process will take a few years to complete.”
In other news, Google Search will now enable its users to add movies or TV shows to a watchlist. Users will have to type "What to watch" on Google search after which recommendations will appear on the site. Users can also mark certain titles as "watched" while switching between a list of recommendations and a watchlist. The feature is currently available for mobile users with google app.
The feature will be rolled out in the near future if users don't see it. immediately.