Google bars elections ads from using political leanings, voter data

Previously, verified political advertisers could also target ads using data gleaned from users behavior, such as search actions, that categorized them as left-leaning, right-leaning or independent. They could also upload data such as voter file lists to target ads to a lookalike audience which exhibited similar behaviors to those in the data.

Tim Cameron, chief executive of FlexPoint Media, which buys ads for Republican campaigns, said he will stop licensing Googles ad-buying tool in January because of the new restrictions.

The voter file feature had enabled FlexPoint to target people who did not regularly cast a ballot and encourage them to turn out. The loss of such targeting could result in a slow decline of civic participation and hurt the ability of insurgent, underfunded candidates to gain support, Cameron said.

Google also added examples to its misrepresentation policy to show that it would not allow false claims about election results or the eligibility of political candidates based on age or birthplace.

Twitter Inc has banned political ads, while Facebook Inc is reviewing its policies after criticism from lawmakers and regulators over its decision to not fact-check ads run by politicians.