Report: Google removed voter scam ads from search results

Google has reportedly removed voting scam ads that showed up in past elections, according a new report from the Tech Transparency Project.

TTP, a research initiative of the watchdog organization Campaign for Accountability, recently tested numerous voting-related terms in Google's search engine to determine whether those inquiries led users to scam ads. The top phrases included "how to vote," "how to register to vote," "early voting," and "when is voting."

In the 2020 and 2022 elections, searches for the same terms yielded scam ads, including ones that charged people fraudulent fees to register to vote or served up "a muddle of useless information," according to the report. Other ads sent users to websites that harvested their data for marketing and installed "browser hijackers" that forced users to visit ad-filled sites.

When TTP conducted its testing from Oct. 1 to 10, 2024, its researchers found none of the scam ads that had previously surfaced. Most of the ads promoted legitimate voter education sites and organizations.

The testing was performed on a "clean" version of the Google Chrome browser, that had been logged out and contained no prior browsing history. Additionally, the researchers used virtual private networks, in order to determine whether searches varied based on location. TTP evaluated a total of 198 ads.

Google did not respond to TTP's request for comment, according to the initiative's blog post.

Google spokesperson Michael Aciman told Mashable that, "We have strict policies to protect people from scams or misleading information about voting procedures and our teams work tirelessly to enforce them."

TTP argued in its blog post that Google can effectively scrub scam ads from search results: "The findings suggest that Google is capable of enforcing its advertising policies and preventing unscrupulous actors from taking advantage of would-be voters during the run-up to an election."

UPDATE: Nov. 4, 2024, 3:08 p.m. PST This story was updated to include a statement from Google that was received after publication.