Do you know how much a box of normal face mask costs during normal times? Not that much. What about now? Up to 300 dollars.

Since the beginning of March, Facebook, Instagram, Google, and many other digital platforms have banned ads related to face masks and other health equipment to prevent price gouging.

Google, though, has transformed these ad-hoc measures into policy, amending their Inappropriate Content Policy to include Public Health Emergencies as a factor to take into account in displaying ads. This means that Google has now formally restricted the exploitation of emergency situations related to public health concerns for financial or political gain.

Effective immediately, the Google disallowing:
“Content that potentially capitalizes on or lacks reasonable sensitivity towards a natural disaster, conflict, death, public health emergency, or other tragic event”

Smart move by Google since it could prevent and fend off any other type of content from profiting from crises as well as setting important precedent for the future.

Read more here.