Gemini helped Google block more than 99% of bad ads before they ran
602 million scam ads were removed, and 24.9 million accounts were suspended, according to Google's 2025 Ads Safety Report.
Topic: Internet safety
Google Ads account suspensions: What advertisers need to know
Seeing the dreaded 'Your account has been suspended' banner in Google Ads? Learn its potential causes and how to get your account reinstated.
Microsoft removed 1 billion ads for violations in 2024
Microsoft aggressively dealt with AI scams and policy abuse, removing a record number of ads and upgrading its enforcement tools.
Google is planning to update its Misleading Representation policy
Advertisers found to be in violation of Google's policies face having their accounts suspended.
Google responds to PMax and brand safety concerns
The search engine came under fire after YouTube was accused of improperly tracking children and violating privacy laws.
TikTok adds 5 new ways to enforce safety for teen users
Some of the policies were launched last year but have been improved with additional features to increase efficacy.
3 TikTok LIVE features, updates, and policies
The new features will hopefully make the LIVE feature a safer place for creators, brands, and users.
Google blocked 3.4 billion ads, suspended 5.6 million accounts in 2021
Google's 2021 Ads Safety Report details threats ranging from cloaking to abusive and inaccurate COVID-19 information.
Microsoft took down 3 billion ads in 2021
Fake celebrity-endorsed ads, account takeover attempts increased, according to Microsoft's ad safety year in review.
Google Ads creates unified advertiser verification program
Google will combine its advertiser identity and business operations verification programs under a unified Advertiser verification program.
Microsoft Advertising blocks 1.6 billion ads while dealing with the pandemic, says annual ad quality review
Microsoft says it is committed to keeping the ads in Microsoft Bing fair and in compliance with its ad policies.
Google removed 2.7 billion bad ads, nearly 1 million ad accounts in 2019
This year,the company says it has removed "tens of millions" of COVID-19 related ads.
Google says it removed more than 3.2 billion bad ads in 2017
The number of ads Google took down last year for advertising policy violations nearly doubled from 2016, and cryptocurrency ads will soon join the list of forbidden ad types.
Bing To Warn Searchers Of Fake Online Pharmacies
Bing promises to warn searchers of fake and potentially harmful online pharmacy websites by teaming up with the FDA.
Bing Upgrades Child Safe Search Features
Bing deploys the new safe preference web protocol for safe browsing with Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Google Issues Bad Ads Report: 59 Percent More Ads Pulled, But Fewer Bad Advertisers In 2013
In the ongoing battle to keep its ads ecosystem free of scammers and malware, Google says it pulled more than 350 million bad ads from its systems last year, up 59 percent from the 224 million it struck down in 2012. Looking back at last year’s bad ads report, it appears that for the first […]
Infographic: How Google Fights Bad Ads
Google carries billions of ads each year, but it’s not anything goes. The company seeks to stop “bad ads” that might push illegal products or harmful goods. A new infographic from Google, out as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, covers the process. The infographic explains that 134 million ads from 824,000 advertisers were stopped last year, […]
Google Sues “Rogue Pharmacies” To Block Them From Advertising
Google is taking what it calls “rogue pharmacies” to court in an attempt to prevent them from continuing to advertise on Google. In today’s announcement, Google says it has filed a civil lawsuit in federal court “against advertisers we believe have deliberately broken our rules.” Google positions the lawsuit as an almost last resort: Like […]
Google Adds SafeSearch Locking
With parents and teachers in mind, Google has announced a new feature that lets users lock SafeSearch on the most strict setting. Using the new feature requires users to enter a Google account password, and when the feature is in effect, Google-colored balls will show at the top of the search results page. As Google […]
UK Report: 1 in 3 Kids Think Top Search Rankings Most “Truthful”
A new and wide ranging report from the UK regulatory agency Ofcom about media literacy finds that 32 percent of UK kids aged 12-15 years old believe that the links/listings shown at the top of search results are the most “truthful.” Here’s how the report summarized this finding: Among children aged 12-15 who use the […]
Microsoft Makes It Easier To Filter Out Unsafe Images In Bing
Microsoft announced two new ways Microsoft is making Bing image and video search safer to use. The first change Microsoft made was to serve up all adult related images and videos on a new domain, explicit.bing.net. Having the content served from a different domain will help schools and homes set their own safe filters to […]
Russian Roulette: McAfee Details Web’s Riskiest Search Terms
Somewhere online right now there’s a music fan who’s big on free downloads, likes Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” but doesn’t know the lyrics, is looking for free ringtones, uses MySpace, likes to play solitaire and wants the latest game cheats. Like many of us, s/he uses a search engine to find all of these things. […]
Now Google Searches For “Educating” Not Safe For Family Viewing
I feel bad for always seeming to pick on Google about showing inappropriate images in normal web search. But it’s happened again. This morning at the Search Engine Roundtable, I explained that a search for [educating] returns a “teacher standing over a student holding a small rod, with the student’s pants down leaning over a […]
“Nobody’s Safe In Cyberspace”: Stalking And Wikipedia
The article, “Nobody’s Safe in Cyberspace,” by Wikipedia editor and photographer David Shankbone, details a personal ordeal he experienced with an online stalker. It’s a horrible story that involves intimidation and threats of violence. But as Shankbone writes, there’s little recourse available to the one who is stalked and harassed online. And there are challenges […]
Google Helps In Child Porn Bust In United States
Former Batesburg-Leesville High teacher indicted in internet bust from WISTV.com reports a high-school teacher was indicted for distributing and soliciting child pornography on Google-owned Hello.com. Hello.com is a site that allows users to chat in real-time while exchanging photos. Timothy Lynn Brumit, a 47-year old high school teacher in Batesburg-Leesville, allegedly used Hello.com to send […]