Over 5 Million Cryptocurrency Related Ads Blocked by Microsoft’s Bing in 2018

Bing, Microsoft-owned Advertisement platform and search engine in the last year, made a note of blocking over five million ads related to cryptocurrency in its report- “Ad quality year in review 2018”  published on March 25.

Cryptocurrency ads are included by Bing in the category where tech support scams and weapon-related content is also incorporated. The reason behind this antagonistic approach is probably the deficiency of regulatory oversight that would restrain the unbridled scams.

It is also noted by Bing that cryptocurrencies because of their pseudo-anonymity, for instance- Bitcoin (BTC), are ‘made a major target by the scam artists and fraudsters for swindling end-users.’ According to the claims, over five million ads have been blocked from the advertising platform as a result of this cryptocurrency content ban.

While Microsoft’s Bing has revealed its hostility for crypto ads, Google announced back in September that it will be lifting its crypto ad ban.

Over 18 million ads along with over 5,000 websites were also blocked as an outcome of Bing’s weapon advertisement ban. The platform has made claims that its efforts to abolish tech scams have resulted in over 12,000 Bing Ads accounts being closed.

In May of last year, it was stated in an official post by the company that ‘because of the lack of regulation in cryptocurrency and related products, it poses an eminent risk to the users with a possibility for bad influences participating in predatory behaviors and scamming the consumers.’ This was when Bing joined other internet giants in the ban of cryptocurrency-related advertisements by July 2018 on its network.

After the sudden flight of prices, Bitcoin and other major altcoins became a hotbed for absolute scammers and speculators, making its legitimacy highly questionable, thus, the ban by various media platforms.

This trend started in January 2018 with Facebook banning cryptocurrency ads with Google taking similar actions in March of that very year. This was followed by Twitter very soon with advertising for token sales and initial coin offerings (ICO) being banned.

Even as these companies have formerly initiated bans on crypto content, their top executives do not reflect the same policies.

While Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter is a vocal Bitcoin supporter, Mark Zuckerberg, has also about his interest in digital assets.

Remarkably, Cryptocurrency is one of Bing’s main support areas alongside weapons and tech support scams. So in general, the platform has discarded an enormous number of 900 million ads, in doing so, showcasing that crypto-related ads embody only 1 percent of the whole amount.

Google followed the suit of ban on cryptocurrency advertising after Facebook but now, it has reportedly reversed the ban for some exceptions- exchanges that are fully submissive to the regulations.

Now in this time of Cryptocurrency gaining more legitimacy, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Bing switches its decision as well.

Trevor Holman

Trevor Holman follows crypto industry since 2011. He joined CryptoNewsZ as a news writer and he provides technical analysis pieces and current market data. He is also an avid trader. In his free time, he loves to explore unexplored places.

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