A recent update by Google to their Financial Services policy will see all crypto-related ads being banned as from June 2018. Just a few days ago, frustrated crypto advertisers took to the Adwords support pages to lament the low number of views on their advertisements. Many claim the recent update played a role in the low views. The search engine giant on the other hand, rebutted this claim saying the update to their Financial Services regulations had nothing to do with the low views.
The newly updated Financial products policy states that cryptocurrency related content will not be accepted for advertisement. The statement is broad and covers most facets of the crypto space, from ICOs to wallets:
“Cryptocurrencies and related content (including but not limited to initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency wallets, and cryptocurrency trading advice),”
The ban will be a sweeping one cutting across Goggle’s ad products and services and other third parties on its vast network. Speaking to CNBC today March 14, Scott Spencer, the Director of Sustainable Ads at Google said:
“We don't have a crystal ball to know where the future is going to go with cryptocurrencies, but we've seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it's an area that we want to approach with extreme caution.”
Google isn’t the only tech giant on a banning spree. In January, social media giant, Facebook banned crypto related advertisements on its site. Facebook said its reason for the ban was to rid the platform of “deceptive promotional practices”.
Governments are also using the same kneejerk reaction of banning crypto-assets and their related entities. Last year, China made it clear it wanted nothing to do withs cryptos or ICOs in the country, banning all related activities. Perhaps, as a result, some persons have claimed that crypto related advertisements have been disappearing from Chinese social media sites.
Just as crypto and ICO promoters have found some way around Facebook ban by using terms such as ‘Bloomchain’ the community will attempt to circumvent the latest Google ban. It is uncertain how severe the impact will be, if not a positive one for reducing the cases of scams in the space.
