The ads that you see on your Google SERP are so ubiquitous that you might not even notice them all that much anymore. However, children may be harmed by looking at ads that are for distinctly adult related items such as sex toys and alcohol. Google supposedly has a policy that attempts to prevent underage users from seeing these kinds of ads, but suffice it to say that the enforcement of this policy has been spotty at best.
The sheer size of Google’s ad network will obviously make it difficult for the tech giant to have complete control over what various users might see. However, that doesn’t change the fact that children can undergo a lot of psychological trauma if they are exposed to subject matters that they are far too young for, and a recent report by Reuters revealed that underage teenagers could quite easily see ads for adult items even if they were logged in with the correct age.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Google is now scrambling to plug these holes. The UK is enacting a number of policies that might result in Google getting penalized if it allows adult ads to be shown to children, and that is something that the tech giant would be looking to avoid due to the negative publicity it might bring.
However, it may be that Google will go a bit overboard in this regard. Some advertisers have complained about their ads not receiving all that much visibility due to their adult nature. Google needs to be careful about overcorrecting and improve its automated content management systems lest advertisers stop getting the results that they need in order to make their ads worthwhile with all things having been considered and taken into account.
H/T: Reuters
Read next: Google Maps wants to make your search process easier with its new review snippet upgrade
The sheer size of Google’s ad network will obviously make it difficult for the tech giant to have complete control over what various users might see. However, that doesn’t change the fact that children can undergo a lot of psychological trauma if they are exposed to subject matters that they are far too young for, and a recent report by Reuters revealed that underage teenagers could quite easily see ads for adult items even if they were logged in with the correct age.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Google is now scrambling to plug these holes. The UK is enacting a number of policies that might result in Google getting penalized if it allows adult ads to be shown to children, and that is something that the tech giant would be looking to avoid due to the negative publicity it might bring.
However, it may be that Google will go a bit overboard in this regard. Some advertisers have complained about their ads not receiving all that much visibility due to their adult nature. Google needs to be careful about overcorrecting and improve its automated content management systems lest advertisers stop getting the results that they need in order to make their ads worthwhile with all things having been considered and taken into account.
H/T: Reuters
Read next: Google Maps wants to make your search process easier with its new review snippet upgrade