Google has announced an expansion of its rules about financial products and services to provide additional protection for consumers from fraud and scams in more regions. Google launched the first of its new financial services policy roll out in September of last year, with providers in the UK required to provide documentation confirming that they’re authorized by the UK financial Authority before they can run Google Ads.
Extra Safe
The same regulations are now being expanded to Australia, Singapore, and Taiwan, in partnership with their respective local authorities. As Google explains:
“As part of the verification process, financial services advertisers in these markets will need to demonstrate that they are authorized by their relevant financial services regulator, and have completed Google’s advertiser verification program in order to begin promoting their products and services. Advertisers will be able to apply for verification at the end of June, and the policy will go into effect on August 30, 2022. Advertisers that have not completed the new verification process by this date will no longer be allowed to promote financial services.”
Which could be interesting for crypto brands and investment opportunities related to crypto speculation. For example, the never-ending mention of NFT projects – these are ostensibly about ‘art’, when in reality, they’re highly financial, especially with the practice of flipping NFT images for money on the open market. So, do these come under Google’s new financial services regulations?
Well, yes, but not directly. Google does have restrictions on crypto ads, with crypto exchanges only allowed in certain countries, while ads for initial coin offerings, DeFi trading protocols, or those ‘promoting the purchase, sale, or trade’ of such are completely banned. To be fair, however, the rising interest around crypto and related elements is not the focus of Google’s new regulations but is actually Google trying to move more into line with local laws, ensuring that its platform is not being used for illicit activities.
According to Google, its additional measures are working:
“Since we launched this policy in the UK, we’ve seen a pronounced decline in reports of ads promoting financial scams […] In 2021 alone, we blocked or removed more than 58.9 million ads for violating our financial services policies. And in 2020, we launched our 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 transparency feature is now live in more than 180 countries and helps people learn more about the company and services behind a specific ad.”
The Wrap
It’s a good move for Google to shift its systems more in line with local rules, helping the platform avoid conflicts with governments and other regulatory authorities in the future over its promotional policies and activity risks. Such has been a rising issue with crypto recently, which might have governments stepping in to offer more protection for their citizens. That could spell an end for crypto entirely, at least functionally that is. Regardless, it makes sense for Google to move more into line with such before it becomes a more significant concern.
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