Google will lift its post-election political ad ban starting December 10 after previously extending it
- Google will lift its post-election political ad ban beginning December 10, one month before two crucial Georgia runoffs that will determine who has control of the Senate.
- Once lifted, ads can now be purchased across all ad-serving platforms, including Google Ads, DV360, and AdX Authorized Buyer — which previously fell under its election ads policy.
- The "sensitive event" policy was initially created to prevent misinformation spread about the elections or public health crisis, and extended longer than anticipated to prevent post-election damage.
- Though the post-election period is no longer considered a sensitive event, Google says it will continue to "rigorously enforce" its ad policies that aim to prevent false information from undermining trust.
Google informed its advertising partners on Wednesday that beginning December 10, it will lift the post-election political ad ban that went into effect after polls closed on November 3, according to an email obtained by Axios.
The big picture: The lift comes about a month ahead of two crucial Georgia runoff races that will determine control of the Senate.
- Millions of dollars have been pouring into the Senate runoffs, but most of that money thus far has been channeled into local broadcast ads due to Google and Facebook's extended political ad bans.
Details: Beginning Thursday, Google says it will be lifting its "sensitive event" policy, which it put in place to help prevent misinformation spread via ads that concern sensitive events like elections or public health crises.
- Once the sensitive event policy is lifted, its systems will again start enabling ads to be purchased across all of its ad-serving platforms (Google Ads, DV360, YouTube, and AdX Authorized Buyer) that fall under the scope of its election ads policy.
- Google's political ad policies are different from the policies used to enforce rules around most commercial ads in that some audience targeting options are restricted.
Google considers the following ad criteria as "election-related":
- Mentions current state or federal officeholder, a candidate, political party, or ballot measure
- Mentions federal or state elections within the ad
- Based on election-related search queries, including on candidates or officeholders.
Flashback: When the ban was first announced in October, advertisers were told that they should expect the ban to last for at least seven days after Election Day, and that Google would review the situation on a weekly basis if it extends longer.
- The ban ended up being extended longer than anticipated in an effort to limit post-election misinformation.
What's next: While Google says it no longer considers the post-election period to be a sensitive event, it will still "rigorously enforce" its ads policies, "which strictly prohibit demonstrably false information that could significantly undermine trust in elections or the democratic process, among other forms of abuse."