Google blocked 780 million ads in 2015

Google's Senior VP of ads and Commerce, Sridhar Ramaswamy has written in a blog that Google blocked 780 million ads in 2015, an increase of 50% from the previous year. The blocked ads included those that contained malware, were intentionally misleading, affected the user's experience, or violated Google's misleading policies; with pharmaceutical ads being the main offenders. On mobile devices, Google blocked more than 25,000 in-app ads because developers did not follow the correct rules on ad placement.      

The number of ads Google has blocked has risen by nearly 50% to 780 million in the past year.

These are ads that contain malware, are intentionally misleading or affect the user experience, Google's senior VP of ads and commerce Sridhar Ramaswamy says in a blog.

Among the culprits are 12.5 million pharmaceutical ads (up from 9.6 million in 2014) that violate Google policies on misleading claims.

In 2015, there were 10,000 sites blocked that sell counterfeit goods and 30,000 sites barred that promote weight loss scams.

Nearly 7000 phishing sites were blocked, 17 million clickbait ads removed and more than 10,000 sites offering 'unwanted software' binned.

On mobile devices, more than 25,000 in-app ads were removed because developers did not follow Google's rules, including irritating ads placed too close to buttons.

"In 2016, we’re planning updates like further restricting what can be advertised as effective for weight loss and adding new protections against malware and bots,” Ramaswamy warns.

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