Google announced in an official blog post that it will soon require all advertisers to verify their identity. This change is to prevent advertisers from misrepresenting themselves – something that Google says should allow consumers to see who’s running ads and which country they’re located in.
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Consumers have seen a proliferation of ads for products from dubious advertisers, like fake vaccines, in recent months. Fake businesses have also been an issue.
Any and all existing advertisers will have a 30 day period to complete the specified verification process, according to a Google spokesperson. If they do not complete it during that time, Google says it will suspend the account and the advertiser’s ability to serve ads until they provide it.
The search giant says that consumers will now start seeing disclosures that list this information on the advertiser when they click “Why this ad?” These changes are scheduled for the beginning of Winter this year. Google will begin by verifying advertisers in the U.S. and will expand globally, expecting that the process will take a few years to complete.
Google began requiring political advertisers to verify their identity back in 2018 before running election ads.
“This change will make it easier for people to understand who the advertiser is behind the ads they see from Google and help them make more informed decisions when using our advertising Controls,” says John Canfield, Google’s director of product management for ads integrity.
“It will also help support the health of the digital advertising ecosystem by detecting bad actors and limiting their attempts to misrepresent themselves.”
Once the documents are submitted, advertisers have to commit an “in-account identity check” to confirm they’re legitimate. Companies and organisations will be required to submit personal legal information (such as tax documents showing the company’s name, address, and employer ID number).
Any individual from the respective organisation also needs to provide legal ID on the organisation’s behalf. In the US, individuals will have to show their government-issued IDs like a passport or card. Google said it previously had collected basic information about the advertiser but didn’t require documentation to verify.
Google will give feedback or provide approval within three to five business days, using a combination of human and tech reviews. Documents are approved by humans, a spokeswoman says.
All advertisers on its platforms will be required to complete the process. Advertising agencies will need to complete verification on behalf of each of their advertiser clients, a spokeswoman said. Though businesses like pharmacies already have to go through a certification process, they will still need to take the new, additional verification steps.
Edited by Luis Monzon
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