Google will be implementing changes to its key search policy. The changes will apply to shopping ads and local inventory ads, and expand on Google’s “Inappropriate Content” policy.
The updates are set to come into effect in February, and seek to further define what Google describes as “sensitive events.”
According to Google, a “Sensitive Event” is an “unforeseen event or development that creates significant risk to Google’s ability to provide high quality, relevant information and ground truth, and reduce insensitive or exploitative content in prominent and monetized features.”
The restrictions are an expansion of Google’s policy on inappropriate content, which comes on top of already existing policies for ads and YouTube monetization.
The company further states that during a Sensitive Event, a variety of actions may be taken toward addressing any potential risks involved—as specified by Google. This could relate to what the company defines as misinformation, fraud, scams, or other predatory actions.
Google outlines examples of what this could include, such as events that have a significant social, cultural, or political impact. This could pertain to civil emergencies, natural disasters, and public health emergencies, as well as acts of terrorism and terrorism-related activities, conflicts, or mass acts of violence.
To further illustrate the implications, Google provided a list of prohibited practices, which include “products or services that exploit, dismiss, or condone the Sensitive Event.”
This will encompass practices such as price gouging or the artificial inflation of prices, which can affect access to vital supplies, as well as offering inadequate products and services during a sensitive event.
It also specifies misdirected traffic in relation to a sensitive event, and so-called victim blaming.
Google defines victim blaming as making claims that those who fell victim to a sensitive event were themselves at fault and responsible for whatever loss they incurred, and are therefore effectively undeserving of remedial or supportive action as a result of their own actions.
Moreover, Google added another prohibitory clause to the list, which disallows any claims “that victims from certain countries were responsible or deserving of a global public health crisis.”
Restrictive policies relating to the financial exploitation of sensitive events are not new. The upcoming changes, however, signal increased efforts to stem what the company defines as online misconduct.
Google has received backlash from several critics over its use of an artificial intelligence (AI) censorship system, including from Zach Vorhies, a former Google employee-turned-whistleblower.
Mr. Vorhies stated in an interview last year that AI is at the heart of the internet’s future, and that the technology is now deciding what type of content is either endorsed or censored online. This can also apply to suppression of certain political content and associated bias, according to Mr. Vorhies.
