Tech giants including Google, Twitter, and Meta have always had a tough time on their respective platforms when it comes close to the election period.
A lot of this has to do with the fact that advertising and the political domain, in general, is really a tricky business. We’ve seen in the past how much these companies end up suffering and are then forced to pay the consequences of not being aligned with the regulatory body’s guidelines.
In the past too, the EU has slapped these firms with some strict measures in the form of tough rules. Now, Google says it will not shy away from sharing what sorts of concerns it has when implementing the new policies set into play by the European Union.
Moreover, the company shared some deep concerns regarding on how its laws need to be drafted so it does not impact them negatively or in any sort of unfair manner. As a whole, there are a total of 5 concerns being outlined.
The initial one is linked to highlighting what exactly is the actual definition of a political ad. We’re seeing the company talk about how so many unclear definitions exist on a certain topic that causes some content on the app to get shared by NGOs. They also feel that at times, topics like climate change even get classified as an ad. So that is clearly not fair, according to them.
Next up, Google spoke about the subject of transparency. They want people to know more about what it is that comprises an advertisement. This has to be in great agreement with the platform in question and the advertisers in place. The latter is linked to making the right distinction where no app owner should ever be needed to confirm details given out by the advertiser.
Then, we saw Google highlight how new rules shouldn’t make the topic of political advertising such an impossible endeavor. They claim that it’s a huge deal and a major component of getting democratic elections up and running.
So many people feel that the time has come to be more aware that political ads are necessary for a country’s democracy if they wish to make the public more aware of what really is going on around them.
By eliminating them completely, you’re bound to leave users in the dark. Similarly, this may give power to hackers and bad actors to carry out abuse on the system. Only then can we expect a more robust system that counteracts such behavior.
Last but not least, we are talking about Google sending out requests to those in the government about what impact the recommendations system can have on political ads. If they are removed from here, then we’re seeing a chance that this might lead to decreased access to useful data.
The concerns of Google do appear to be valid to us. The right sort of advertising and political content needs to make the rounds on social media. If you simply limit the system to the likes of political ads then you’re saying hello to unhealthy political discourse.
Read next: Google Paid $12 Million To Protect Its Platform Against Security Vulnerabilities In 2022
A lot of this has to do with the fact that advertising and the political domain, in general, is really a tricky business. We’ve seen in the past how much these companies end up suffering and are then forced to pay the consequences of not being aligned with the regulatory body’s guidelines.
In the past too, the EU has slapped these firms with some strict measures in the form of tough rules. Now, Google says it will not shy away from sharing what sorts of concerns it has when implementing the new policies set into play by the European Union.
Moreover, the company shared some deep concerns regarding on how its laws need to be drafted so it does not impact them negatively or in any sort of unfair manner. As a whole, there are a total of 5 concerns being outlined.
The initial one is linked to highlighting what exactly is the actual definition of a political ad. We’re seeing the company talk about how so many unclear definitions exist on a certain topic that causes some content on the app to get shared by NGOs. They also feel that at times, topics like climate change even get classified as an ad. So that is clearly not fair, according to them.
Next up, Google spoke about the subject of transparency. They want people to know more about what it is that comprises an advertisement. This has to be in great agreement with the platform in question and the advertisers in place. The latter is linked to making the right distinction where no app owner should ever be needed to confirm details given out by the advertiser.
Then, we saw Google highlight how new rules shouldn’t make the topic of political advertising such an impossible endeavor. They claim that it’s a huge deal and a major component of getting democratic elections up and running.
So many people feel that the time has come to be more aware that political ads are necessary for a country’s democracy if they wish to make the public more aware of what really is going on around them.
By eliminating them completely, you’re bound to leave users in the dark. Similarly, this may give power to hackers and bad actors to carry out abuse on the system. Only then can we expect a more robust system that counteracts such behavior.
Last but not least, we are talking about Google sending out requests to those in the government about what impact the recommendations system can have on political ads. If they are removed from here, then we’re seeing a chance that this might lead to decreased access to useful data.
The concerns of Google do appear to be valid to us. The right sort of advertising and political content needs to make the rounds on social media. If you simply limit the system to the likes of political ads then you’re saying hello to unhealthy political discourse.
Read next: Google Paid $12 Million To Protect Its Platform Against Security Vulnerabilities In 2022
