Google removes 5.1 bn ads, 247 mn from India alone to tackle scam surge

The company said it is constantly adapting its methods, including using advanced tools and working closely with its partners, to ensure a safer online environment

US tech giant Google on Wednesday said it removed more than 247 million ads and suspended nearly 2.9 million advertiser accounts across the country last year.

 

With many countries holding elections in 2024 including India, Google put extra measures in place to protect election integrity. Globally, this included verifying over 8,900 election advertisers and removing 10.7 million ads that came from unverified sources. Google also became the first major company to require clear labelling of AI-generated content in political ads.

 

In its 'Annual Ads Safety Report for 2024', the company also revealed the most common violations that led to enforcement action. The top five policy violations in the list were ads related to financial services, followed by issues involving trademark misuse, abuse of the ad network, personalised advertising practices, and gambling-related content.

 

Google also pointed out that that the online advertising landscape is constantly evolving, with new innovations such as AI, along with changing global events and innovative tactics, continuing to shape the way digital threats emerge. The company highlighted the importance of constantly adapting in this space, including using advanced tools and working closely with its partners, to ensure a safer online environment for both users and advertisers.

 

Implementations made globally

 

The annual report also highlights how Google is using advanced AI tools to detect these scams, block misleading ads, and make its space safer for both users and advertisers. In 2024, Google introduced more than 50 improvements to its enforcement systems, making it faster and easier to spot bad actors.

 

One such is the use of Large Language Models (LLMs), which is a type of AI tool that can detect threats with far less data as compared to older systems. As per the report, these AI LLM models helped Google take down 97% of harmful web pages flagged under its publisher policies in 2024.

 

Fraud prevention and fake accounts

 

The report also noted the company's efforts in stopping fraud before it starts. Google said it improved how it spots fake businesses, suspicious payment details, and impersonators. The tech giant said it suspended 39.2 million advertiser accounts, with the majority stopped before they could ever run an ad.

 

This year, identity checks have also been ramped up, with more than 90 per cent of ads now coming from verified advertisers. According to the report, Google’s identity verification programme now covers more than 200 countries.

 

Fighting scam ads and deepfakes

 

A major concern in 2024 was the rise of AI-generated scam ads, where bad actors used fake voices or images of celebrities to promote suspect offers. To tackle this, Google created a specialist team of over 100 experts, updated its policies, and suspended more than 700,000 advertiser accounts linked to such scams. Reports of these ads dropped by 90 per cent by the end of the year.

 

In total, 415 million scam-related ads were blocked, and over 5 million accounts were shut down for serious policy breaches.

 

Publisher policy enforcement

 

Google also worked to clean up the sites where its ads appear. In 2024, action was taken on 1.3 billion web pages, with sexual, violent, or harmful content being the main causes. Site-wide action was also taken on over 220,000 publisher websites.

 

A constantly changing landscape

 

Google says the online ad environment is always shifting, influenced by new tech, changing global events, and more advanced scam methods. In response, the company made over 30 updates to its ad and publisher policies and launched new partnerships, including the Global Signal Exchange, to better share information across the industry.

 

Overall, Google in 2024, through its ad safety commitment removed 5.1 billion ads, restricted 9.1 billion ads, suspended 39.2 million advertiser accounts, and took action on 1.3 billion publisher pages. 

Top ad violations

 

In terms of policy breaches, the biggest issues in 2024 are listed below: 

Abuse of the ad network 

Trademark violations 

Misuse of personalisation tools 

Financial services scams 

Gambling and misleading health claims