Google suspends 2.9 million Ad accounts in India for violating policies
Alphabet’s Google has revealed in its latest Ads Safety Report that it took major action against policy-violating advertisers in India in 2024. The company suspended over 2.9 million Indian advertiser accounts and removed nearly 247.4 million ads that violated its advertising guidelines.
Google, the leading name in the tech world, reportedly took down 5.1 billion ads and restricted over 9.1 billion ads worldwide, while more than 39.2 million advertiser accounts were permanently suspended. The tech giant has stated that it ramped up its ad safety systems to counter the growing wave of AI-generated impersonation scams, especially those misusing public figures' identities.
“The company adapted its defences against ever-evolving scams, notably the rise of AI-generated public figure impersonation ads,” Google said.
Why did Google crack down on Ad accounts?
In the report, Google mentioned it had deployed a specialised team of over 100 experts who worked to strengthen policies and enhance fraud detection. The team also made more than 50 improvements to its large language models (LLMs) to better identify suspicious signals during account creation and ad publishing.
As a result, Google claims to have seen a 90 per cent drop in reports related to scam ads in 2024.
Top 5 policy violations triggering account suspensions
According to Google, the following were the most common policy violations:
- Misleading or fraudulent financial services
- Trademark infringement
- Circumventing Google’s ad systems
- Misuse of personalised advertising
- Violations related to gambling and gaming
AI used for good: Smarter detection, faster action
With scam ads evolving rapidly, particularly those using AI to mimic celebrities and influencers, Google relied heavily on AI to combat AI. It used advanced models to speed up investigations, detect red flags during sign-up, and identify unusual patterns in ad content.
This proactive approach has led to one of Google’s most extensive ad cleanups to date, significantly improving ad safety for users worldwide, including millions in India.
Google’s aggressive crackdown in 2024 highlights its commitment to keeping the online advertising ecosystem safe and trustworthy, especially in a market as large as India. With evolving threats like AI-generated scams, the tech giant is leveraging its own AI tools and policy updates to stay ahead. For Indian users and advertisers alike, this means a cleaner, more secure browsing experience and a stronger barrier against online fraud.