[2018-06-06] Finance Industry Slams Google’s Crypto Ban As ‘Unethical’ and ‘Unfa

[Terraformer]

Finance industry executives have argued that Google’s decision to ban cryptocurrency advertising is not only ill-conceived, but unethical. In Facebook and Twitter have enacted similar bans. The ban covers cryptocurrencies, ICOs, crypto exchanges, crypto wallets and crypto trading advice.

Philip Nunn, CEO of Blackmore Group, a Manchester-based investment firm, said that because Google and Facebook both indicated an interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, the ban is not based on concerns about criminality.

In remarks reported by the Independent, he stated:

“I understand that Facebook and Google are under a lot of pressure to regulate what their users are reading, but they are still advertising gambling websites and other unethical practices”

Motives Suspected

Nunn said he suspected that Google and Facebook are motivated by plans to introduce their own cryptocurrencies. A Google spokesperson told Business Insider in March it was exploring the technology. The spokesperson said at the time it was too soon to discuss any plans.

Facebook indicated interest in blockchain technology in May when it announced its largest management changes ever. Former Facebook Messenger chief David Marcus said he would head an exploration of blockchain and will reporter to Mike Schroepfer, Facebook’s CEO.

Facebook’s Ban Failed

Marketers were able to circumvent Facebook’s attempts to block cryptocurrency related advertising in January. Words such as “cryptocurrency” were abbreviated as “”c-currency” and the “o” in bitcoin was replaced with a zero.

Scammers are using Google and Facebook to promote unsavory exchanges and cryptocurrencies. As many as 80% of ICOs have been found to be fraudulent.

Banning cryptocurrency advertising is seen as a good thing since the growth of such advertising undermines its perception, but the ban is an unfair targeting of the industry according to digital banking startup Revolut’s head of mobile Ed Cooper.

He added:

“Unfortunately, the fact that this ban is a blanket ban will mean that legitimate cryptocurrency businesses which provide valuable services to users will be unfairly caught in the crossfire.”

Cooper said a more targeted effort would be better since it would be fair and it would be excessive to ban all adds for things like anti-virus software, charities or job postings which are also used by scammers to target people.

Gareth Malna, a fintech attorney at Burges Salmon, a U.K. law firm said the Google ban is inconsistent with its very purpose as a search engine. He said Google’s action seems like protecting the consumer, but it is overstepping its role as an information gatekeeper.

Source >> https://www.ccn.com/finance-industry-slams-googles-crypto-ban-as-unethical-and-unfair/

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[richardsNY]

I can only thank Google and other internet giants for doing this, because the far majority of the ad space (in crypto terms) on social media is utilized by scams and schemes. The less exposure they enjoy, the less victims there will be, that's how it works. Google is still displaying utter scam ads both on its search engine and YouTube. How can they not just get rid of these ads directly? Just now YouTube displays an ad promising you $4000 in a matter of 7 days, where the ad is linked to an entity called 'SillyGirl'. How obvious do they need it to be? Get rid of this trash and make sure these entities can't buy ad space anymore....

[hatshepsut93]

I can only thank Google and other internet giants for doing this, because the far majority of the ad space (in crypto terms) on social media is utilized by scams and schemes. The less exposure they enjoy, the less victims there will be, that's how it works. Google is still displaying utter scam ads both on its search engine and YouTube. How can they not just get rid of these ads directly? Just now YouTube displays an ad promising you $4000 in a matter of 7 days, where the ad is linked to an entity called 'SillyGirl'. How obvious do they need it to be? Get rid of this trash and make sure these entities can't buy ad space anymore....

I guess this kind of stuff is done automatically, so Google can't effectively combat scams without using workers to manually review ads. The article says that some people were able to bypass Facebook's crypto ban by replacing keywords. But I think regulators should be really tough on this one, when some sites hosts malicious ads, they should be fully responsible for being a part of the scam, but as far as I know there's no precedent for it yet.

[Kemarit]

I can only thank Google and other internet giants for doing this, because the far majority of the ad space (in crypto terms) on social media is utilized by scams and schemes. The less exposure they enjoy, the less victims there will be, that's how it works. Google is still displaying utter scam ads both on its search engine and YouTube. How can they not just get rid of these ads directly? Just now YouTube displays an ad promising you $4000 in a matter of 7 days, where the ad is linked to an entity called 'SillyGirl'. How obvious do they need it to be? Get rid of this trash and make sure these entities can't buy ad space anymore....

I guess this kind of stuff is done automatically, so Google can't effectively combat scams without using workers to manually review ads. The article says that some people were able to bypass Facebook's crypto ban by replacing keywords. But I think regulators should be really tough on this one, when some sites hosts malicious ads, they should be fully responsible for being a part of the scam, but as far as I know there's no precedent for it yet.

Obviously, it can be circumvent as the articles clearly says. So its back to the drawing board again for Facebook and Google on how to combat them. However, this will be a continuous mouse and game. It they fix the loopholes ,those scammers will simply find another way so its going to be a continuing battle. The one that blink their eye will losses. But I totally agree with @richardsNY, at least those scammers are having a difficult time advertising their so called project that will give investors that kind of returns. But we all know that is completely bullshit. On the other hand, those legit projects are also getting a hit on this one. I guess its own of the drawbacks, but we can live with that.

[Lucius]

I think this ban from Google was simply inevitable, amount of phishing links, fake crypto wallets or bad ICO was getting bigger day by day. Since they as one of the largest Internet companies could not find another solution to prevent this, only way is complete ban. I know they check every site if there is request for AdSense advertising, and I assume that this is manually approved - is it so hard to gather the team of people who would work on this problem?

I do not know how this ban can be connected with alleged plans of Google/Facebook cryptocurrency, but this is certainly not something to dismiss as a possible reason of ban.

[jhenfelipe]

I know Google is banning crypto ads, but not certain about the scope. Is this in general? I mean, including crypto wallets and exchange ads? If yes, then it doesn't seem to be filtered well because there are still such ads showing.

Since there are tons of advertisers who wants to use Google ads, I don't think Google will check each thoroughly to see whose legit or scam. Seeing mostly scams and fraud ads showing first in the search results is not good, so IMO banning crypto ads is better even if it would affect those legit sites who uses the service.

[kevoh]

With this sort of backlash from the finance industry, I forsee a possible review of the cryptocurrency ads ban by Google and Facebook in the future that will favour only legit crypto business. The only drawback that might hinder such review from taking place is if they stick to pursuing their interests in Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology and keeping out any form of competition through this ban.