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Google warns a thousand brands over bad ads

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By John Glenday, Reporter

August 9, 2017 | 3 min read

Google is to take direct action against approximately 1,000 online publishers which it has identified as being responsible for the use of ‘highly annoying, misleading or harmful’ ads as it steps up efforts to protect its reputation.

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Google warns a thousand brands over bad ads

The move will see brands such as Forbes, The Los Angeles Times; and The Independent issued with an email warning them that their advertising falls foul of the Better Ads Standard, established by a coalition of advertisers, media channels and technology firms; together with a link to its Ad Experience Report from where they can test their sites to see which ads must be removed.

Google is taking a lead role in the campaign having already pledged to bar bad ads from its Chrome browser from early next year, meaning browsers can use the web without fear of stumbling upon irksome popups, autoplay videos with sound and too many simultaneous adverts.

Google’s director of product management, Scott Spencer said: “We are doing this so they have ample time to change their ad experiences so there are no violations or concerns about anything. We provide the tool that's just telling people what's happening on their site and many publishers want to do the right thing, but some might not even know that there are annoying ads on their site."

The Better Ads Standard is composed of Facebook, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, The Washington Post, the Interactive Advertising Bureau, GroupM and the Association of National Advertisers among others.

Google removed no less than 1.7bn 'bad ads' in 2016 but has struggled to put a lid on advertising fraud.

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