Google announces transparency measures for election ads

Ahead of the general elections in May, internet major Google announced bringing in more transparency to election advertising online.

This has come after social media platform Twitter and Facebook announced similar measures earlier.

Google plans to introduce an India-specific political advertising transparency report and searchable political ads library which will go live in March 2019, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

The updated election ads policy for India will require advertisers that are running election ads in India to provide a 'pre-certificate' issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI) or anyone authorised by the ECI, for each ad they wish to run. Google will verify the identity of advertisers before their election ads run on its platforms. The advertiser verification process will begin on 14 February 2019 and advertisers can refer to the India election ads policy for more details.

This will also provide comprehensive information about who is purchasing election ads on Google platforms and how much money is being spent. Besides, it will enable voters to get the election-related information they need, Google said.

Chetan Krishnaswamy, director - public policy, Google India, said, "In 2019, over 850 million Indians are expected to cast their vote to elect the country's next government... we are bringing more transparency to election advertising online and surfacing relevant information to help people better navigate the electoral process." 

With elections around the corner, the government has stepped up pressure on social media platforms to curb fake news and illegal content. The IT and electronics ministry has already come out with a draft on intermediary guidelines to regulate content online. 

In an emailed response, WhatsApp said it has facilitated political party trainings in the five Indian states with elections in 2018. “We briefed them on our approach to safety and the importance of using WhatsApp responsibly. The training emphasises that sending WhatsApp messages to users without their permission can lead to their accounts being banned. We will expand this effort and work with the Election Commission of India in the lead up to the national election in 2019.”

Prasanth Sugathan, legal director at SFLC.in, said curbing fake news and illegal content is a complex issue and would require a multi-pronged approach based on technology, law and education. “Curbing misinformation is important in the light of the upcoming general election. However, care should be taken to ensure that restrictions do not result in curbing the free speech rights of citizens. This would require various stakeholders including the platforms, civil society and government to work together.”

On the same query, a Twitter spokesperson said they look forward to continuing engagement with the Indian government. “We hope after this robust public consultation process any changes to the Intermediary Guidelines in India will strike a careful balance that protects important values such as freedom of expression.”

Earlier this month, Twitter said it will provide a new dashboard showing expenditures by political parties on advertisements on its platform. The advertising dashboard will provide information on spending by entities for poll-related advertisements.

In December, Facebook said it will make it compulsory for advertisers to disclose their identity and location before any political advertisement material can be run on the popular social media platform and Instagram. It had also said a disclaimer will be shown on all political advertisements by providing details of those placing the advertisements.