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Google Bitcoin Businesses The Almighty Buck

Google Will Ban All Cryptocurrency-related Advertising (cnbc.com) 108

Posted by msmash from the taking-a-stand dept.
Google is cracking down on cryptocurrency-related advertising. From a report: The company is updating its financial services-related ad policies to ban any advertising about cryptocurrency-related content, including initial coin offerings (ICOs), wallets, and trading advice, Google's director of sustainable ads, Scott Spencer, told CNBC. That means that even companies with legitimate cryptocurrency offerings won't be allowed to serve ads through any of Google's ad products, which place advertising on its own sites as well as third-party websites. This update will go into effect in June 2018, according to a company post. "We don't have a crystal ball to know where the future is going to go with cryptocurrencies, but we've seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it's an area that we want to approach with extreme caution," Scott said.
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Google Will Ban All Cryptocurrency-related Advertising More

Google Will Ban All Cryptocurrency-related Advertising

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  • Let Google tell us about the other side too... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by bogaboga ( 793279 ) on Wednesday March 14, 2018 @09:15AM (#56258777)

    "... but we've seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it's an area that we want to approach with extreme caution,

    I would like Google to tell us whether they have seen any customer benefit at all.

    Or Slashdotters can tell us: Anyone know of any benefit related to cryptocurrencies?

    • Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... (Score:5, Funny)

      by PolygamousRanchKid ( 1290638 ) on Wednesday March 14, 2018 @09:34AM (#56258869)

      I would like Google to tell us whether they have seen any customer benefit at all.

      Beat that title:

      "Google's director of sustainable ads"

      I'm guessing that title gets him to the front of the line at restaurant queues in Silicon Valley:

      "I'm sorry, Madonna, but we have to serve the VIP Director of Sustainable Ads first."

      Actually, I would rather have a beer with Google's Director of Unsustainable Ads. He's probably more amusing and more fun at parties.

      • Actually, I would rather have a beer with Google's Director of Unsustainable Ads. He's probably more amusing and more fun at parties.

        May I suggest Google's former Director of Search Quality? who else could give the Job Title of "porn cookie guy"....

    • Anyone know of any benefit related to cryptocurrencies?

      I can get a project funded without having PayPal/Visa/Mastcard/etc hold my funds "because reason".

      • For this you could use something like Square Cash. Or you know a check.

        • Square still relies on credit cards.

          As for checks, you expect someone with a kickstarter/etc to ask every backer to send him a check?

          • You don't have to mail the check You can use ACH. And the transaction fees are way lower than Bitcoin.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by mwvdlee ( 775178 )

      There's always somebody at the top of each pyramid scheme. Plenty of benefits there.

    • I personally don't recall having seen any ads for Cryptocurrency, but there again I don't pay attention to ads. When an app on my phone plays a video I always turn my phone away from my face to not watch it... I'd rather watch a wall.

      That said, don't see the harm in ads for Cryptocurrency. One's that mine from the ad... now those are bad.

    • Well, if you were smart enough to mine a few hundred Bitcoin back in 2010 and held onto them, you would be a millionaire now.

      As an actual currency, though, it kind of sucks. The transaction fees are high, the confirmation time takes way too long, and the value of your "currency" can swing in value by over 30% in a week. That last statement alone is enough to prevent most "real" transactions being done with the before converting it to something like USD first.

      Personally, I think that Google is more worried a

      • Also: If you'd bought shares in Apple when they were lowest, or any one of the thousands of investments that require 20:20 hindsight to work properly.

        Which part of "ICO" doesn't scream out "a bunch of guys have just invented a 'coin', kept a hoard for themselves and are now hoping people will be stupid enough to buy them"?

      • Well, if you were smart enough to mine a few hundred Bitcoin back in 2010 and held onto them, you would be a millionaire now.

        Lucky is the word you are looking for. There was no logic that would have lead you to believe that mining bitcoin would result in vast riches. Therefore smart doesn't play into it. It was a gamble that paid off for a lucky few, barely different than having a winning lottery ticket.

        As an actual currency, though, it kind of sucks.

        You don't need the "kind of" qualifier. It sucks. It's expensive, volatile, risky, awkward, not accepted many places, slow, and did I mention expensive? Transaction costs for bitcoin are WAY higher than for dollar transactio

    • "... but we've seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it's an area that we want to approach with extreme caution,

      I would like Google to tell us whether they have seen any customer benefit at all.

      Or Slashdotters can tell us: Anyone know of any benefit related to cryptocurrencies?

      Wat? They could easily use that same excuse for investing in Stock or Futures Markets, or precious metals. Bitcoin and others are fools games and a bubble waiting to burst, but risk equals potential for harm.

      It would be smarter to simply claim Bitcoin et al are dumb.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Wat? They could easily use that same excuse for investing in Stock or Futures Markets, or precious metals.

        Except financial markets are regulated, requiring disclosure laws and other things you need to be doing (like monitoring suspicious transactions). Laws govern what can and can't be done.

        Bitcoin and others, by design apparently, reject that this is something that applies to them. Because they're special and smeared themselves with unicorn poop, and therefore exempt.

        Having done that, don't pretend to be

        • Bitcoin and others, by design apparently, reject that this is something that applies to them. Because they're special and smeared themselves with unicorn poop, and therefore exempt.

          Actually...
          Bitcoin et al. were created to fill a gap, to fulfill a need in the world. It is the need to free oneself from the mostly unnecessary regulation. Now, this is at least what the theory is. In practice, the whole cryptocurrency thing is not yet mature. There are doors wide open for abuse, indeed, and there's risk, of course. It's a Wild West kind of thing.

          The good news is the market is slowly maturing and stabilizes. Most shitcoins are doing badly, their value dropping steadily, which is expected b

        • Wat? They could easily use that same excuse for investing in Stock or Futures Markets, or precious metals.

          Except financial markets are regulated, requiring disclosure laws and other things you need to be doing (like monitoring suspicious transactions).

          Most Bolshy whooshes to you, citizen. For all of your rather long winded reply, it wasn't related to what I wrote. My response was to Google's screed about people losing money. Specifically

          "... but we've seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it's an area that we want to approach with extreme caution,"

          Which applies to both bitcoin, stock market, precious metals, and futures. People can and do lose money in each - every day. regulations or no regulations. Its pretty lame when Go

    • Or Slashdotters can tell us: Anyone know of any benefit related to cryptocurrencies?

      No. Next question.

      Seriously, most of them are rather transparent pyramid schemes or similar scams designed to separate the gullible from their "real" money. The few that aren't are just an answer to a problem nobody has except criminals.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • "... but we've seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it's an area that we want to approach with extreme caution,

      I would like Google to tell us whether they have seen any customer benefit at all.

      Or Slashdotters can tell us: Anyone know of any benefit related to cryptocurrencies?

      Benefits? When has customer benefit EVER been involved in the Marketing Department's thought process? It's sell it at whatever price the market will bear, not on a fixed margin or sustainable growth curve.

      QUESTION: Does Google ban ads for guns?

    • Anyone know of any benefit related to cryptocurrencies?

      You can transmit value around the world without first getting a third-party's approval.

      The unbanked can transmit and receive value using their cellphones.

      Court judgments can't seize your coins/tokens without your permission unlike your bank and investment accounts, home, cars, etc.

  • Team Google World Police (Score:4, Insightful)

    by SmaryJerry ( 2759091 ) on Wednesday March 14, 2018 @09:19AM (#56258799)
    Seriously, can they please just be a carrier of information again rather than policing the entire web already. YouTube already requires you have a childrenâ(TM)s show or you get demonetized, now they decide what is risky for you. They need to stop assuming everyone online has an IQ of 5 and let people think for themselves.

    • Nah its not even that misguidedly altruistic. Simply put it competes with google pay.

      Next they will ban paypal and visa

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by SirSlud ( 67381 )

        Next they will ban paypal and visa

        They've had a decade plus to do that, and they haven't. Anyone can say something will happen if they don't have to be around when they're wrong.

    • Fahrenheit 0b111000011 (Score:5, Insightful)

      by goombah99 ( 560566 ) on Wednesday March 14, 2018 @09:36AM (#56258895)

      Sanitizing content is the digital equivalent of burning books.

      • It's about ads, not content. That's the difference.

        No one wants books to be burnt or otherwise destroyed, as you never know if you may need it and want to get your hands on it.

        Ads on the other hands... like garbage, that should be burnt. And if I have it thrown at me against my will, it better should be sanitized.

        • So an article about an ICO might be shown, but an 'ad' for the ICO not?

          Really. This is stupid. Can Google please stop censoring the Internet, or offer a reasonable explanation why ICO ads aren't allowed? Like SEC violations?

          As if Kickstarter hasn't actually been used for what, in every so slightly different form, would be an improper public offering.

        • Oh, and while I'm ranting, the radio ads hear for refi offers that includes, among other reasons you might want to 'cash out' on your home's equity, 'cash in on the Bitcoin slump'.

          This is nearly criminal. Nearly.

  • Prediction (Score:5, Funny)

    by Teppy ( 105859 ) on Wednesday March 14, 2018 @09:35AM (#56258883) Homepage
    I take this to mean that Google will release their own cryptocurrency in about 6 months.

    • Exactly.

      Sir, that will cost you 5 Googs. Sorry we don't advertise for the competition, I mean the bad cryptocurrency. You can trust Google...

  • Where does it stop and what is he limiting criteria to stop it?

    • Where does it stopM/quote>

      History teaches us that such things never stop until they are forcibly stopped.

      what is he limiting criteria to stop it?

      Again, history teaches us that it devolves down almost exclusively to the people's willingness and ability to pick up a rifle and kill the bastages.

      Strat

  • Ad Network vs Searches (Score:3)

    by sqorbit ( 3387991 ) on Wednesday March 14, 2018 @09:51AM (#56258975)
    They didn't say they were going to ban or filter searches for info on cryptocurrencies. They just don't want it in the ad network. I don't really see the problem here. The ad network is there business and they need to adjust to what they see is good for business.
  • This is great news. The "ads" for cyrptocurrencies and bitcoin and exchanges have been overwhelmed with phishing scams and missinformation. The organic results will be much better than any ads in this space!

  • I am shocked, shocked that Google would want to disassociate itself from solid businesses like pyramid scheme phony currencies!

    {your bitcoin winnings sir}

    Thank you.

  • It seems a little strange that Google will ban cryptocurrency advertising but still allow gambling.

  • I don't care about cryptocurrencies.

    No happy about google's insane censorship, and manipulation of search results.

    JMHO.

  • is going to have to create a new search engine soon.
    No ads is the first step to big brand censorship?
    All the activist party political US brands trying to push their political view onto search results?
    Whats next? No search results?
    Deranking comments and content that mention term like crytocurrency? The math and academic papers too?
    How deep with the big brand crypto ban go?
    Time for a new search engine that actually finds results without having to guess at how a big brands political views will alter th

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