There are a lot of concerns regarding bans on cryptocurrency ads by major technology firms. Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, and Google have all taken similar actions in this regard. Even so, it is Google’s decision in particular which has irked a lot of people, and it seems the company will face even more backlash over this development.
The Google Ban on Crypto Ads
The month of June 2018 will be a trying time for the cryptocurrency industry. This will be when the recently announced cryptocurrency ad bans will go into effect. Google‘s ban affects all ads involving cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings, trading platforms, trading advisers, and wallet services. It is a very unfortunate development and one that hasn’t been received all that well either.
The message conveyed by Google – as well as some other tech companies – has been received with a fair amount of skepticism. Considering that the technology giant has shown a keen interest in both cryptocurrency and blockchain technology this year, it seems counterproductive for the company to ban related advertisements.
While one has to commend companies such as Google for trying to address this industry, its current approach raises too many questions. Censoring the internet due to regulatory guidelines which have not been enforced by any government is a very dubious decision, for rather obvious reasons. Additionally, the search engine giant is still openly advertising adult content, gambling websites, and other content which raises legitimate questions.
While this ban will go into effect in June, it remains to be seen how long Google will actually enforce it. Given all of the backlash the company has received, it may end up hurting the firm’s reputation in the long run. While it is not the only company to be taking this course of action, bigger companies will be scrutinized first and foremost.
To be sure, blocking cryptocurrency advertisements may end up hindering growth in this ecosystem. A lot of companies rely on exposure to consumers through advertisements, yet most firms have other ways of getting the word out. For new companies and startups, however, gaining traction outside of the existing cryptocurrency community will not be all that easy.
The need to fight the mounting number of scams in the cryptocurrency space does not warrant internet censorship under any circumstances. Rather than addressing illicit advertisements on its own platform on a case-by-case basis, Google has decided that a blanket ban makes a lot more sense. Only time will tell if its decision was the right one. So far, the cryptocurrency community isn’t too impressed with the decision by any means.
