Google removed 3.4bn ads, suspended 5.6m advertiser accounts in Nigeria, others – Official

Tech giant, Google, has disclosed that it removed over 3.4 billion ads, restricted over 5.7 billion, and suspended over 5.6 million advertiser accounts in Nigeria and other parts of the world in 2021.

In a statement titled “Google Commits to Keeping Ad Platforms Safe for Users, Advertisers, and Publishers in Africa”, the company said access to quality information has never been more important across Africa, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The statement noted that regulators across the world are demanding a more private internet, and businesses in Africa must acknowledge and respond to this shift in consumer behaviour.

The tech company noted that as people manage more of their lives online, their concerns over how personal data is gathered, used, and shared have grown.

In light of the growing privacy concern, Google said it placed users at the centre of its work across every product by ensuring safety and security.

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“We also blocked or restricted ads from serving on 1.7 billion publisher pages and took broader site-level enforcement action on approximately 63,000 publisher sites,” it said.

Managing Director, Africa at Google, Nitin Gajria, was quoted in the statement as saying: “At Google, we are committed to making the ad-supported web a safer and more private place for everyone in Africa. We believe that by giving people control over their data and investing in privacy-safe advertising, we can secure a future for the ad-supported web that benefits everyone.”

The tech company added that Nigeria’s search interest in private browsing increased by 60 per cent in the last five years, just as the figure increased by 30% in South Africa and about 110% in Kenya.

“2022 was the year Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria searched most for private browsing since 2012,” the statement said.