Google will allow vetted providers to use addiction-related ad words, following a ban that came into effect last September over concerns that questionable addiction treatment providers were taking advantage of vulnerable patients. Google has partnered with LegitScript which will vet businesses to ensure they are licensed and comply with a checklist including treatment plans, qualifications and professionalism. They explained that Google originally planned to greenlight 30 providers — which is to say facilities, of which a provider like RCA might have just one or dozens — but they were inundated with applications and had to expand the first wave of the program to closer to 100. The move comes as the company is under fire for its handling of ads on YouTube after it was revealed that videos promoting illegal drugs had been removed from the site.
Google will allow vetted providers to use addiction-related ad words, following a ban that came into effect last September over concerns that questionable addiction treatment providers were taking advantage of vulnerable patients. Google has partnered with LegitScript which will vet businesses to ensure they are licensed and comply with a checklist including treatment plans, qualifications and professionalism. The move comes as the company is under fire for its handling of ads on YouTube after it was revealed that videos promoting illegal drugs had been removed from the site.