• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, July 21, 2021

Google started piloting a three-strike penalty protocol aimed at accounts that repeatedly violate ad policies. No doubt it's a takeoff from California’s three-strike law, now defunct.

The documented ad policy provides descriptions of clear actions that Google will take.

Beginning in September, Google’s program begins with a warning and no penalties for the first violation.

For the second violation for the same policy received within 90 days, Google will place the account on a temporary hold for three days, during which time the ads will not run.

With each additional violation, the penalty increases until the account is ultimately suspended after three strikes for the same violation within a specific number of days.

“Warnings and strikes will be issued for violations of our Enabling Dishonest Behavior, Unapproved Substances and Dangerous Products or Services policies—this includes ads promoting deceptive behavior or products such as the creation of false documents, hacking services, and spyware, as well as tobacco, drugs and weapons, among other types of content,” Brett Kline, Google product manager, explains in a post.

While these types of ads have been prohibited for years, Google has just now introduced formal penalties with each strike applied. 

Google already initiates account-level suspensions when egregious policy violations are detected, such as creating new accounts to bypass multi-strike suspensions, phishing or misrepresenting the product or service to intentionally mislead users.

The goal is to increase accountability for advertisers and to encourage them to learn more about Google’s advertising policies to prevent future violations, creating a better overall experience for all, according to the post.