Google plans to lift the ban on coronavirus related advertisements

The coronavirus outbreak has taken the world by storm and while countries are trying to fight the virus, tech companies have been fighting misinformation. A couple of weeks back, Google took a bold step and banned everyone from promoting advertisements around coronavirus.

However, this didn’t sit well with the Democrats who alleged that Google is allowing the White House to run ads but is not giving Democrats an opportunity to criticize Trump’s take on the coronavirus pandemic (via Protocol).

This policy was designed to protect users and block ads that try to capitalize on short-term events like natural disasters. Now, we are looking at ways to support limited COVID-19-related ads from hospitals, medical providers, government entities, and NGOs.

– Google spokesperson (via The Verge)

In an email, Google’s head of industry Mark Beatty told advertisers, “We’re planning to allow other advertisers, including political organizations, to run ads related to COVID-19. We will have more information to share on this in the next few days.”