Addiction rates for illicit drugs have skyrocketed in the United States, and many are turning to google to try and find places where they can get help, only to run into new issues. An entirely new industry has emerged online to advertise addiction treatment centers through search engines, but there are also many using deceptive tactics.
TechCrunch reports that Google is pulling its global rehab advertising efforts on hold to help find solutions to better work the situation.
Last week, London’s Sunday Times report (via TechCrunch) that Google was profiting from deceptive lead generation companies in the UK, paying the search giant “as much as £200 each time someone accesses their website with a single click on the advertised link at the top of a Google search page.” Google started pulling ads in the UK following the report, and in a statement said that it was bringing US suspension into the UK while consulting with experts to find a better solution.
After dealing with the issues in the UK, Google is now extending the suspension a step further by pulling ads globally, according to a statement given to TechCrunch:
This is a complex issue with varying degrees of regulation in different countries, which is why we’ve decided to suspend ads in the entire addiction treatment center category globally while we consult with experts to find a better way to connect people with the treatment they need.
