Ever since May 2008, when Google began supporting third-party cookies as part of the DoubleClick acquisition, Google has been asking AdSense publishers to update their privacy policies to include language that third-party cookies are in fact utilized. Then, more recently, Google started behavioral targeting ads and asked publishers again to update their privacy policies.
A new wave of AdSense publisher account bans has been spotted in the discussion forums and some believe this is due to some publishers not updating their privacy policies. A Google AdSense Help thread has discussion around this theory. One "Top Contributor" said:
The privacy policy is a huge deal because it's about doing ethical business. Google is, and partners with, some of the largest companies in the world through the AdSense/Words programs, and if parties on either side of the fence (SANE parties I mean, not these doofi who for some reason think that Google is trying to remain one of the world's largest and most successful companies by ripping them off for a hundred bucks) lost faith in the Google brand - which is largely built on their ethics - then the whole thing falls apart. The advertisers must have a degree of confidence that Google both maintains and enforces standards among their AdSense publishers...so if Richard Branson happens to stop by LowGenius.Com and see that I don't have a privacy policy, and there's an ad for Virgin Airways at the top of my page, he's going to throw a fit and pull his ads...the whole network loses.
But do you think Google is really banning accounts over not having the proper privacy policy?
We recently polled our audience to see how many have updated their privacy policy for AdSense and currently, most have said they have not. If you have not taken the poll yet, please do and I will publish the results later this week.
Forum discussion at Google AdSense Help.
