Google Still Running GPS Jammer Keyword Ads

Last Friday, I reported that Google has a policy against accepting keyword ads for illegal gadgets, including GPS jammers.

The Federal Communications Commission went after 20 mom-and-pop online GPS jammer retailers on Sept. 30, threatening them with fines of $16,000 a day unless they stopped selling the gizmos.

The FCC, in its notice, made it clear that "such devices" shall not be operated, advertised, displayed, offered for sale or lease, sold or leased, or otherwise marketed [emphasis included]."

I asked the FCC if the above applied to Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines, which carry keyword ads for signal jammers. A spokesman replied, "As the FCC Enforcement Bureau Advisory to retailers about jamming devices stated, we expect all companies to abide by these rules."

Google spokeswoman Diana Adair told me last week that the company "disallows ads for illegal signal jammers. We monitor and enforce our ad policies through a combination of both manual and automated processes. Ads that are found in violation of our policies will be removed."

I think Google needs to tweak its signal jammer ad removal algorithm because today a search for GPS jammers came back with three keyword ads.

Since these ads literally amount to nickels and dimes in Google's $29 billion a year in annual revenues, you'd think the company would stop running them.

I'm going to make this a weekly feature until Google does stop.