Google supports US efforts to tighten rulings on political ads
US search giant Google has thrown its weight behind the Federal Election Commission's proposal to extend current political advertising disclosure rules, marking a U-turn from its position in 2010. "Google strongly supports the commission’s proposal to proceed with a rulemaking so that the commission can provide the clarity that campaigns and other political advertisers need to determine what disclaimers they are required to include", the company said in a statement. The move follows revelations over the Russian purchase of thousands of dollars' worth of ads on the platform during the 2016 US presidential election.

Alphabet-owned Google has come off the fence to express its ‘strong support’ for a US government initiative to tighten the rules for online political advertising to prevent a repeat of 2016 in which Google was co-opted by Russian propagandists in an attempt to swing voters.

Google ‘strongly supports’ full disclosure of US political ads

Google, Facebook and Twitter have come in for heavy criticism from politicians after being caught flatfooted by the scandal, failing to prevent agents acting on behalf of the Russian state from buying up advertising slots.