Google has revealed that it blocked or removed over 5.1 billion harmful advertisements globally in 2024. This achievement is attributed to advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) that have improved its capacity to combat online scams, fraud, and misinformation.
According to Alex Rodriguez, General Manager for Ads Safety at Google, “These improvements allowed us to act faster, spot threats earlier, and intervene before bad actors could reach users.”
AI is vital in detecting complex scams, impersonation attempts, and disinformation campaigns. “That’s the true strength of AI—ensuring online safety in a proactive, not just reactive, way,” Rodriguez said.
Google’s efforts have led to significant results, including:
- Restricting 9.1 billion ads
- Suspending over 39 million advertiser accounts
- Disabling 700,000 advertiser accounts linked to scam activities, resulting in a 90% reduction in reported impersonation scams
Protecting Users in Africa and Beyond
Nigeria was specifically cited as one of the countries where malicious ads were intercepted and removed before going live.
Google flagged impersonation scams involving public figures and misleading election-related content as prevalent challenges within the country. With nearly half of the world’s population participating in elections in 2024, Google said it intensified its efforts to ensure there was transparency in political advertising.
The search engine company stressed the importance of cross-sector collaboration in safeguarding the digital space. It reaffirmed its commitment to working with regulators, industry peers, and consumer protection bodies. “In 2024 alone, we implemented more than 50 enhancements to our AI models,” Rodriguez added. This enabled teams to devote more resources to complex investigations while automation handled large-scale threats.
Like 👍, Comment, share this article, and Follow us on our social media handles.
WhatsApp Channel
Telegram Channel
