Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Google stops carrying Canadian political ads

Google to ban political ads ahead of federal election, citing new transparency rules - The Globe and Mail - Tom Cardoso:

March 5, 2019 - "Google is banning political advertising on its platforms ahead of the Canadian federal election because of new ad transparency rules it says would be too challenging to comply with.

"The decision comes in response to the Liberals’ signature election measure, Bill C-76, which passed in December. Among other things, it requires online platforms to keep a registry of all political and partisan ads they directly or indirectly publish. The penalties for not doing so include fines and possible jail time.... The bill’s advertising-transparency requirements come into force on June 30, or sooner if an early election is called....

"To enforce its ban, Google will modify its ad policies and systems to block advertisers from running ads that fall under the definitions set out in C-76. Other Google services, such as enhanced search results and platforms including YouTube, will still be available during the campaign period.... Google also expressed concerns about how it would detect ads of a partisan nature, which may not specifically mention a candidate or party by name.

"Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould said the decision was 'very disappointing' in an e-mailed statement. 'Google’s decision to opt out of political advertising during the regulated period appears to have been made for business reasons and does not reflect on the quality of our laws, which are designed to protect Canadian voters and our elections'....

"The internet giant first spoke publicly about C-76 in November. In a presentation to a Senate committee, Google ... included marked up versions of Bill C-76 indicating which sections Google wanted removed or edited. Because of how Google’s advertising systems work, the company argued, it doesn’t know which ads get displayed, making a registry impossible....

"In Google’s system, ads can be targeted to users ... through a real-time bidding process. When users visit a web page, as the page loads their profile is shared with an advertising exchange ... the web page’s publisher then auctions off the ads ... [and] the winning bidder displays an ad to the user. This entire process often lasts less than two tenths of a second.... Google argues the publisher may not know which ads were displayed. Similarly, the advertising exchange itself may not know which ad was shown....

"Google is one of the world’s largest digital-advertising companies.... A study from the Canadian Media Concentration Project estimates that, in 2016, the company accounted for 48 per cent of all internet advertising in Canada, eclipsing Facebook, at 24 per cent."

Read more: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-google-to-ban-political-ads-ahead-of-federal-election-citing-new/
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