Google will require verification for European political ad buyers

Tightening its grip to contain the spread of misinformation and influence of voters through its portals, Google has announced that it will require advertisers to undergo verification before they can buy political ads.

Ahead of the European Parliament elections which begin next year, advertisers will have to submit an application for verification. Google will also require all ads that mention political parties, candidates and current officeholders to know exactly who is paying for them, Engadget reported.

Google will further publish an EU-specific Election Ads Transparency Report that will show a list of advertisers and their spends. This report will be accessible to the public and they can look up for the most spender, or who is putting up the ads, and whom they are targeting.