Why Has Google Taken Down 2.9 Million Ad Accounts In India?

Google has taken significant actions against advertisers in India for policy violations, suspending nearly 2.9 million accounts and taking down 247.4 million ads.

Google has suspended 2.9 million ad accounts in India, citing policy violations.
Photo : iStock

Over 2.9 million advertiser accounts were taken down in India due to policy violations in 2024, Alphabet’s Google announced on Wednesday. The crackdown involved nearly 247.4 million ads in India and over 5.1 billion ads globally, the company’s annual Ads Safety Report said. The action was taken as Google adapts its defences against AI-generated public figure impersonation scams.
“In India, 247.4 million ads were removed and 2.9 million advertiser accounts were suspended,” the Company said in a report. Globally, Google has suspended more than 39.2 million advertiser accounts, took down 5.1 billion ads, and restricted over 9.1 billion ads,” the report said.
“The company also adapted its defences against ever-evolving scams, notably the rise of AI-generated public figure impersonation ads,” it added.

Why is Google cracking down on ad accounts?

According to the report, a specialised team of over 100 professionals collaborated to implement protective measures, including updating policies to target scam advertisers. There are five major policy violations that Google cited in its report.

Here are the 5 big policy violations: