Google has announced that it will make changes to its Google Ads policies which will affect housing, employment, and credit advertisers.
The new personalized ads policy for certain ad types, according to the Google announcement, will prohibit the impacted advertisers from targeting or making exclusions in their ads based on age, gender, marital status, parental status, or ZIP Code.
The changes are in addition to the longstanding policies that limit personalization based on specific sensitive categories, including rage, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability. The personalized advertising policies have been evolving for over the decade, and Google said it would continue to evaluate its policies so they can assure that their users are protected from behaviors such as discrimination.
In 2019, Facebook also implemented policy updates that were meant to limit discrimination in housing, credit, and employment advertising, removing some specific ad targeting options. Facebook's updated policies meant that the impacted advertisers are no longer allowed to target their audience based on gender, age, or zip code.
The changes came as a result of action taken against the social media platform by the National Fair Housing Alliance or NFHA, American Civil Liberties Union - ACLU, and the Communication Workers of America - CWA. Investigations revealed that Facebook's ad targeting options could be used as a tool in a discriminatory and potentially illegal manner.
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The Google announcement said that the Google Ads policies are written to protect users, advertisers, and publishers, as well as prevent advertisers from doing unlawful behavior that acts as discrimination against specific users.
The "policies" also give users control as to what kind of ads are presented to them, including their ability to opt-out of personalized ads. The ads policies apply to all ads that Google serves, and they take action, in case they find that certain ads violate their policies, the announcement explained.
The changing advertiser circumstances brought about by the coronavirus pandemic make it difficult to layout precise timelines, Google said. However, the company plans to roll out the policies update in the U.S. and Canada as soon as possible.
Google said that they had been closely working with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding the changes for some time already. And to address discrimination in ad targeting, Google will continue working with HUD, civil rights experts, housing experts, and the broader advertising industry.
Housing advertisers are to be provided with additional information about fair housing to help ensure that their actions support access to housing opportunities. Google is committed to maintaining the broader advertising ecosystem set high standards for online advertising, as well as improving inclusion and access for its users; the announcement concludes.
Personalized advertising is a Google advertising tool that aims to improve the relevance of serves ads to its users and help increase advertisers' ROI. The tool uses online user data for targeted ad content and improved user and advertiser experience.
Google's personalized advertising policy prohibits users from using sensitive interest information, including personal hardships, sexual interest, identity, and belief.
