Google has updated its advertising policy around age estimation, renaming it and narrowing the list of ad categories restricted while its systems determine whether a user is a minor. It has happened amid global efforts regarding age assurance technology, and the policy will help advertisers understand the process of serving ads more clearly.
The update does not introduce new restrictions. Instead it clarifies the temporary nature of the existing ones and removes a category that no longer fits the list.
What Changed With the Policy Name
The policy was previously known as “Default Ads Treatment”. However, Google has renamed it to “Categories restricted while Google is estimating a user’s age”. The new name is much clearer compared to the previous one. While the old name gives no indication of what triggered some restrictions, the new one highlights the connection between age estimation and the list of restricted ad categories and implies that the restrictions are temporary.
This distinction is very important for advertisers because it enables them to understand that some restrictions are only temporary and do not apply to a particular piece of content. A policy named “Default Ads Treatment” cannot provide such information. Now advertisers know exactly what categories are subject to restriction during the particular stage and why.
Google has also updated the policy language to reinforce that the restrictions are interim protections. The updated policy highlights that the restrictions are intended to reduce the risk of serving age-related ads to a user until age is estimated. Enforcement procedures remain unchanged. The update does not affect the way the policy is enforced in any way. This change is aimed at providing more clarity about the nature of the policy.
Shocking Content Is Off the Restricted List
More interesting is the decision to remove the “shocking content” category from the list of restricted categories. Previously, Google restricted four ad categories during age estimation: adult content and pornography, alcohol, gambling, and shocking content. The new policy restricts only three categories.
This change is significant for advertisers because shocking content ads were often restricted for no reason. The three remaining ad categories: adult content and pornography, alcohol, and gambling have one common characteristic – all of them are subject to age-based restrictions in almost all countries. Their inclusion in the list of restricted categories is logical because serving these ads to the users, whose ages have not been confirmed yet, involves regulatory and reputational risks.
The rationale for keeping these three categories on the restricted list is straightforward. However, this logic does not apply to shocking content category because this content is not legally restricted based on users’ ages like alcohol or gambling ads. Its inclusion alongside legally age-restricted categories like alcohol and gambling was never a natural fit. Removal of this category improves the coherence of the list.
For advertisers, whose campaigns were previously categorized as shocking content, this change will mean less restrictions of ad delivery. However, this change will probably not have any noticeable effect on the performance of the campaigns because shocking content ads are also subject to many other Google advertising policies.
What Age Assurance Means at Scale
Renaming of the policy and narrowing the list of the restricted categories take place in the context of rapid expansion of age assurance technology globally. In different parts of the world, including the USA, the UK, Europe, and Australia, regulatory authorities force platforms to introduce more sophisticated age assurance technology in order to protect minors from harmful content and age-restricted ads.
Age estimation system of Google operates at the ad delivery level. Namely, Google does not require users to verify their age; instead, the company estimates the age of users based on the data available to its systems. During this process, restrictions of ad delivery are applied. After successful age estimation, restrictions are removed and ad delivery continues normally.
The policy rename reflects Google’s effort to be transparent about how its age estimation system works. This transparency becomes especially important as the issue of age assurance becomes more topical for regulators. Renaming the policy and updating its language is a deliberate step in that direction.
Advertisers, especially those working in alcohol, gambling or adult content categories, become more interested in this technology because more and more markets introduce requirements to age assurance of users. In future, the temporary age estimation restriction period described in this policy can affect more ad impressions of these categories.
What Advertisers Need to Know
Operationally, this update does not affect the advertisers in any way. Three categories that remain restricted during age estimation: adult content and pornography, alcohol, and gambling were already restricted prior to the update. Also, the policy enforcement procedure remains unchanged. Campaigns in these categories continue to experience restrictions during the age estimation period.
However, this update provides advertisers with more clarity regarding this procedure. Advertisers who previously experienced ad delivery limitations and had to find out the reasons of such behavior by analyzing the “Default Ads Treatment” label will now have an informative name of the policy that can be used as an additional instrument for problem solving and explanation.
For advertisers in shocking content category, this update means the removal of a potential restriction factor during ad delivery process. However, it is necessary to bear in mind that shocking content ads are also subject to many other Google advertising policies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q 1: What is Google’s updated age estimation ads policy?
Google has re-named its “Default Ads Treatment” policy to “Categories restricted while Google is estimating a user’s age.” The new policy name is more accurate and better describes the scope of the policy – the temporary holding back of certain ad categories until age is estimated. The enforcement of the policy is otherwise the same.
Q 2: Why did Google remove shocking content from the restricted list?
Shocking content was removed since it does not have the same kind of regulatory logic to it as other restricted categories. Unlike adult content, alcohol or gambling, shocking content is not typically regulated with age-based restrictions. So removing it makes the list consistent with the logic of the age estimation window.
Q 3: Does this update change anything for advertisers operationally?
No. The three restricted categories have remained the same and the policy is enforced the same way. This is mostly an update in terms of how the policy name describes the process.
Q 4: What is age estimation and how does it work in Google’s ad system?
Age estimation refers to the process during which Google uses available signals to assess whether the user is likely to be a minor, so it can serve certain categories of ads. When the window during which age estimation is done is open, some categories are blocked until the age of the user is established with a good level of confidence.
Q 5: Which ad categories are still restricted during age estimation?
The three categories that are restricted while Google is estimating a user’s age are adult content and pornography, alcohol and gambling. These are categories of content which are age-restricted in most markets, hence the need to make sure the users are not minors before these ads can be served.
Q 6: Why does the policy name matter for advertisers?
Changing the name of the policy to something more descriptive makes it clear why these ads are being restricted, namely the age estimation process. Before the change the policy was known as “Default Ads Treatment”, but that gives no information why the ads are being restricted, thus making it hard for advertisers to troubleshoot their ads’ delivery problems.
Q 7: How does this relate to the broader expansion of age assurance technology?
Age assurance is a growing area of regulation, with various governments forcing online platforms to use age assurance technologies. The update to the policy is Google’s way to be transparent about its age estimation system in view of growing interest in such technology worldwide. It becomes very relevant for advertisers in certain categories as more markets are introducing formal age restrictions.
Q 8: Where can advertisers find the updated policy?
The updated policy is available through Google’s Ads Policy Help Center. Advertisers can review the full list of restricted categories and the updated language explaining that the restrictions are interim protections tied to the age estimation process rather than permanent content policies.
