Google fires back after study claims “80%” of video ads violate its own terms of service
UnsplashGoogle has reportedly violated its own terms of service according to a new study claiming that 80% of its video advertisements were shown on third-party sites that went against its own standards.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Google has supposedly violated its own terms of service. A study from Adalytcis claimed that 80% of the time, Google’s own video ads fail to meet their own standards.
Adalytics, a firm that analyzes online ads, published the recent study. The research outlined how Google had been placing video ads on sites that do not meet their own standards for monetization, among other violations.
The data has reportedly already led to a number of ad buyers demanding refunds for clients who purchased Google ad space.
According to the report, brands such as Disney+, Samsung, Johnson & Johnson, and more had their video ads placed on sites that fall short of Google’s standards. And according to Adalytics, it also includes various government agencies such as the U.S. Army, Social Security Administration, Medicare, and more.
However, in a statement to WSJ from Google, the company outright denied the conclusions of the study. Saying the report “makes many claims that are inaccurate and doesn’t reflect how we keep advertisers safe.”
Further saying that they regularly remove ads from partner sites that violate their AdSense policies and that they will take any appropriate actions once the full report is shared with them.
Google has not yet issued refunds for buyers of AdSense who were affected by the violations of their own standards, however, multiple statements of clients looking for refunds were provided to WSJ.
Ads make up a considerable segment of Google’s revenue, such as in 2022 when search ads alone made up $162.45 billion of their $279.81 billion in revenue – or 58.1% of their total revenue. And this does not include ads they sell on YouTube.
