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Google allowing scam ads as Americans search for how to vote: Report
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Top Stories |
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IANS | 30 Jun, 2020
Despite making claims its protecting people from harm and abuse during
elections, Google is allegedly helping scammers target Americans as they
search for information on voting before the November presidential
election.
According to a report by Washington-based Tech
Transparency Project (TTP), Google is allowing scammers to prey on
Americans seeking information about how to vote in the upcoming
election, undercutting the company's claims that it's helping people
navigate the process of registering to vote, securing a mail-in ballot
or finding their polling place.
The analysis found that nearly
one third of the ads - 189 out of 613 - directed users to sites that try
to extract personal information for marketing purposes, install
deceptive browser extensions, or bombard people with misleading or
useless ads.
The citizens who turn to Google for answers could be
discouraged or misled by scam ads that pop up as they search for how
and where to vote in 2020, said the report.
Search terms like
"register to vote," "vote by mail," and "where is my polling place"
generated ads linking to websites that charge bogus fees for voter
registration, harvest user data, or plant unwanted software on people's
browsers.
Google as yet to issue an official statement on the report.
"Such
ads could have a suppressive effect on voters. Users searching for
guidance about elections who instead find themselves on manipulative or
confusing sites may eventually give up on finding the information they
need," said the TTP report.
That's a far cry from Google's commitment to "protect our users from harm and abuse, especially during elections."
The
ads identified by TTP appear to violate Google's policies that prohibit
misrepresentation, collecting user data for unclear purposes, and
unwanted software.
They may also run afoul of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations banning "unfair or deceptive advertising."
TTP
also found that Google served 43 ads for so-called browser hijackers
alongside the search terms "vote by mail," "register to vote," "absentee
ballot," "how to vote," and "find polling place."
These browser
extensions often use the promise of government forms or other useful
information to induce people to install unwanted software that routes
them to sites that serve more ads or harvest their data.
"Some
people may find it difficult to distinguish Google ads from other kinds
of content because as of January, search ads on Google feature the same
type face and colour scheme as organic search results," the report
noted.
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