The Silicon Review ^Asia

The new policy on ads comes right before the LokSabha elections from Google. In India, we all know that elections are a highly anticipated event. Google also knows this factor and that is why it announced an update that will provide comprehensive information about who is purchasing them on Google platforms and how much money is being spent.

With the new update, the advertisers will have to provide “pre-certificate” which is issued by the Election Commission or something that is equitant to the ECI certificate. Each ad will be considered based on the certification that is provided. After the ECI certifications are provided Google will start with verifying and identifying advertisers by next month. All of this will be done before the advertisers run ads in the platform.

"In 2019, over 850 million Indians are expected to cast their vote to elect the country's next government. We're thinking hard about elections and how we continue to support democratic processes in India and around the world. In line with this, we are bringing more transparency to election advertising online, and surfacing relevant information to help people better navigate the electoral process," says ChetanKrishnaswamy who is currently the Director-Public Policy of Google India.