Ahead of Lok Sabha Election 2019, Google has announced that it will introduce India-specific Political Advertising Transparency Report and searchable Political Ads Library in March 2019. These will provide comprehensive information about who is purchasing election ads on Google’s platforms and how much money is being spent. Google says that these will help people better understand the election advertising they see.
In addition, election ads on Google platforms will also disclose who has paid for the ad. Google also said that it will make electoral information from the Election Commission of India and other authoritative sources easily discoverable on Search. Facebook has already announced a similar set of tools for India last month.
Chetan Krishnaswamy, Director Public Policy, Google India in a blog post, said:
We’re thinking hard about elections and how we continue to support democratic processes in India and around the world. Today’s updates are a step forward in this direction, and we will continue to invest in initiatives that build further on our commitment towards election transparency.