In a sweeping digital cleanup effort, Google has made it crystal clear—there’s no room for rule-breakers on its advertising platforms. In its latest Annual Ads Safety Report, the tech giant revealed that it suspended a staggering 2.9 million advertiser accounts in India alone in 2024 for violating its ad policies. The move is part of a much larger global crackdown aimed at keeping the internet safer and more trustworthy for users.
Zooming out, the numbers are even more jaw-dropping:
🔴 5.1 billion ads removed worldwide
⚠️ 9.1 billion ads restricted
⛔ Over 39.2 million advertiser accounts suspended globally
India Under the Scanner: What Triggered the Action?
India, one of the world’s largest digital markets, saw 247.4 million ads removed and millions of accounts permanently suspended. According to Google, the spike in enforcement reflects a growing challenge—bad actors are evolving, and so must the tools to detect them.
The offenses ranged from illegitimate payment details during account setup to deceptive ad content designed to scam users. And perhaps the most alarming trend? AI-generated ads impersonating public figures—a sophisticated scam technique that’s been gaining traction globally.
AI Fighting AI: Google’s New Countermeasures
As scammers get smarter, Google is fighting fire with fire. In 2024, the company rolled out over 50 upgrades to its large language models (LLMs)—the very core of AI systems—to supercharge its ability to catch fraud faster.
These improvements helped identify red flags more efficiently, such as suspicious payment info or bot-like behavior, even before an ad could go live. The system doesn’t just react—it now predicts and prevents.
New Misrepresentation Policy and the 700K Purge
One of the major game-changers came when Google updated its misrepresentation policy, targeting advertisers who deliberately tried to scam or mislead users. As a result, more than 700,000 advertiser accounts promoting such fraud were permanently kicked off the platform.
This wasn’t just a numbers game—it had real impact. Google’s blog states that these actions led to a 90% drop in scam ad reports involving fake endorsements and impersonations over the past year.
To achieve this, Google didn’t go at it alone. A specialized team of over 100 experts worked behind the scenes to design new countermeasures and refine policies, setting a clear tone for what won’t be tolerated.
Why It Matters
With billions of users relying on Google’s services every day—from search and YouTube to shopping and Gmail—the integrity of the ads people see isn’t just a corporate issue—it’s personal. Scam ads can mislead, harm, and even defraud everyday users.
Google’s proactive stance serves as a reminder that while the digital world offers massive opportunities, it also comes with responsibility. And for advertisers, the message is loud and clear: Play fair, or stay out.
