As I’ve pointed out, Google’s AdSense program requires, “Sites displaying Google ads may not include… advocacy against any individual, group, or organization.” I just checked in with Google, and the restriction remains. However, I have since found definitive proof that Google doesn’t take its own policies seriously. I was glancing at Ann Coulter’s web page (don’t worry — I don’t make a habit of it), and I noticed “Ads by Google.”
Is there any person in America who “advocates against” individuals, groups, and organizations more forcefully than Ann Coulter? Clearly, if Google took its own stated policies seriously, it would not allow Coulter to display “Ads by Google.”
But here’s the kicker: Google’s own ad “advocates against” a particular individual. Note that Google’s system selects the content of the ad. An ad that appears on Coulter’s web page states, “Who Can Defeat Hillary?” In other words, the ad includes “advocacy against” Clinton.
If Google flagrantly violates its own stated policy for ads, then clearly that particular policy is meaningless. However, if, as one of the comments on an earlier post alleges, Google has pulled its ads from another web page because of that page’s arguments, is Google opening itself up to potential legal action?