Google has announced it is expanding its advertising identification policy in an effort to improve transparency.

The company initially rolled out its identify verification policy in 2018, although it applied primarily to political advertisers. In recent years, however, Google and other tech companies have been fighting an increase in misinformation, including misleading and fraudulent ads. As a result, Google wants to help shine a light on the companies behind ads that customers see, adding a degree of accountability and transparency. The feature will begin rolling out this summer, with an “About the advertiser” disclosure, similar to the current “Why this ad?” information.

“This change will make it easier for people to understand who the advertiser is behind the ads they see from Google and help them make more informed decisions when using our advertising controls,” writes John Canfield, Director of Product Management, Ads Integrity. “It will also help support the health of the digital advertising ecosystem by detecting bad actors and limiting their attempts to misrepresent themselves.

“We will start by verifying advertisers in phases in the U.S. and continue to expand globally. Because we are working closely with our advertising partners to scale the program while continuing to ensure we are surfacing helpful information to our users, we expect that this process will take a few years to complete. Advertisers can learn more about the identity verification program here.”

This is good news for customers and will hopefully help cut down on misleading and fraudulent ads.

Image Credit: Google