If you're looking for fast cash, feel free to Google it. But if you're selling fast cash, the search giant might not be the place for you.
Starting this summer, Google will no longer allow payday lenders — companies offering short-term, high-interest loans — to buy advertising on Google ad systems.
The new policy,
announced on a Google blog
The Internet search and online ad powerhouse — which relies on ads for
90 percent of its revenue
And out of concerns over predatory lending, Google
already restricted
But now —
like Facebook
The news comes as a federal watchdog continues to push for stronger restrictions on payday lending. In 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a draft of proposed rules intended to regulate the industry. (Implementation of the proposed rules
has been delayed
As we
reported at the time
Online payday lenders — which might be particularly affected by Google's new policy — present another layer of possible cost for consumers.
Just last month, the CFPB
released a report
Then there's another way in which payday lending online is different from the shop on the corner: Billboards promising fast cash can't generally be spotted from five states over.
Many states have their own
payday lending restrictions
Google didn't mention federal watchdogs or varying state laws in its announcement. The company simply said it's targeting short-term and high-interest loans because "research has shown that these loans can result in unaffordable payment and high default rates for users."
The policy affects ads, not search results. (Google ads appear above results, and on sites that partner with Google Adwords.) For instance, while Google bans ads for fireworks, searching for "buy fireworks" readily returns a list of vendors.
But by blocking ads for payday loans, "our hope is that fewer people will be exposed to misleading or harmful products," Google's director of global product policy writes.
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