Google Restricts Political Ad Targeting Ahead of 2020 Election Season
Google limits political ad targeting to basic demographics like age, gender, and postal code while pledging to remove demonstrably false claims.
Google revises its political advertising rules ahead of the upcoming election season by significantly limiting how campaigns target voters. Unlike Twitter, which bans political ads entirely, Google allows them but restricts targeting options for search, display, and YouTube ads to only age, general gender, and postal code. This change prevents advertisers from targeting users based on political affiliation or specific issue stances like support for marriage equality or gun restrictions.
The search giant states that these updates aim to improve voter confidence in the political ads they see across Google's platforms. By removing the ability to microtarget specific demographic or psychographic profiles, Google eliminates a controversial and often creepy advertising practice. However, advertisers still maintain the ability to run ads based on specific search terms, meaning a campaign can still reach people searching for highly specific political topics.
In addition to targeting limitations, Google emphasizes that it strictly prohibits any advertiser from making demonstrably false claims. The company specifically highlights that it does not allow misleading information about the voting process, such as claims that people can vote by text message or that election day is postponed. While this approach differs from a total ban, it represents a notable step toward reigning in deceptive political messaging on major digital platforms.