Singapore – Tech giant Google has recently announced new policy updates in order to combat financial fraud in advertising. First launched in the United Kingdom in 2021, the policy will roll out in phases in Australia, Singapore and Taiwan.
According to an online statement from Alejandro Borgia, director for ads privacy and safety at Google, the new policy creates a new layer of security against fraudsters and will help further safeguard their network from financial scams.
As it rolls out in the three aforementioned markets, advertisers will be able to apply for verification at the end of June, and the policy will go into effect on August 30, 2022. As part of the verification process, financial services advertisers in these markets will need to demonstrate that they are authorised by their relevant financial services regulator, and have completed Google’s advertiser verification program in order to begin promoting their products and services.
“We work tirelessly to make sure the ads we serve are safe and trustworthy, and we know that partnering and collaborating with government regulators is critical to our success. That’s why we’re closely coordinating with regulators in these three markets to make sure this program is effective at scale. In the coming months, we plan to further expand these verification requirements to advertisers in additional countries and regions,” Borgia said.
This is the latest policy from Google to tackle online fraud in advertising. In 2020, they launched their advertiser verification program that will require Google advertisers to verify and disclose information about their businesses, such as where they operate and what they’re selling or promoting.
“This policy is just the latest step in our longstanding effort to tackle online fraud. We have robust policies in place to prohibit bad actors from deceiving people through tactics such as phishing, using clickbait, or providing misleading information about a product, service or business. We also have strict rules about how advertisers can market financial products such as loans and debt services,” Borgia added.
