Alphabet’s GOOGL division Google is leaving no stone unturned to bolster its advertisement presence amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the back of strong ad policies.

This is evident from the company’s latest policy, which has been framed to curb the misinformation regarding COVID-19. Reportedly, the policy is aimed at restricting apps and websites from running ads that provide content related to conspiracy theories behind COVID-19.

Further, the new policy would prohibit advertisers from creating ads based on coronavirus conspiracy theories.

The recent move comes at an opportune time for Google when several countries worldwide including United States are reeling under apprehensions regarding the second wave of COVID-19, which is aggravating the ongoing health crisis.

Moreover, such move is likely to add strength to the company’s ad business.

Countering Misleading Info Regarding COVID-19

Apart from the new policy, the search giant’s ban on ads that shows content related to anti-vaccination movement or cure of COVID-19 remains noteworthy.

We note that Google is not the only company that has taken strict action to stop the spread of COVID-19 related misinformation.

Other major ad players —Facebook FB and Twitter TWTR — are also trying all means to curb ads spreading misinformation on their social media platforms.

Facebook’s imposition of restrictions on ads that promise cure or prevention of COVID-19 is commendable.

Further, the social media giant’s plans to remove content related to COVID-19 conspiracy theories are major positives.

Meanwhile, Twitter is continuously removing misleading and potentially damaging tweets. Additionally, the company has recently unveiled new labels to alert users coming across tweets with COVID-19-related misinformation.

Google’s Growing Efforts

The latest move bodes well for Google’s strategic steps toward strengthening its ad business by curtailing misleading information.

Apart from this move, the company has recently decided to change its policy to prohibit advertising for unauthorized tracking technology such as spyware and others that aim to gather information about a person or organization without their knowledge.

The new policy,which is going to be officially released on Aug 11, will impose further restrictions on advertisements for GPS trackers, cameras and recorders that target spying and tracking someone without any consent.

Additionally, Google recently eliminated ads, which were misleading users searching for voting related information.

Reportedly, users searching with terms like register to vote, vote by mail and other related terms were getting directed to ads that charged them huge fees especially the ones providing registration information. Further, some of the misleading ads were tracking personal data of users, which was a cause of concern.

We believe all these endeavors remain crucial for the search giant, which often grapples with issues regarding misinformation or fake news.

Zacks Rank & a Stock to Consider

Currently, Alphabet carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors interested in the broader technology sector can consider a better-ranked stock like Zscaler, Inc. ZS, which carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Long-term earnings growth rate for Zscaler is pegged at 57.53%.

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