Google Bans (selected) Political Ads: Trademark Infringement or Content Control?

Never mind the politics. If Google isn't being strictly accurate and complete in it's explanation, bloggers who rely on advertising revenue need to know this.

The Minneapolis, Minnesota, Examiner article, "Google bans anti-MoveOn.org ads" sounds frightening, as most good headlines should.

Quoting from the article: "The banned advertisements said, 'Susan Collins is MoveOn’s primary target. Learn how you can help' and 'Help Susan Collins stand up to the MoveOn.org money machine.'"

Google says that it rejected the ad because it has a policy about trademarks in ads, and the anti-MoveOn.org ads violated that policy.

The policy must be more complicated than just 'don't use trademarks, since "Google routinely permits the unauthorized use of company names such as Exxon, Walmart, Cargill and Microsoft in advocacy ads. An anti-war ad currently running on Google asks 'Keep Blackwater in Iraq?' and links to an article titled 'Bastards at Blackwater — Should Blackwater Security be held accountable for the deaths of its employees?'

Google is so big that the only practical approach for advertisers and bloggers who use Google's advertising services is to figure out what Google likes, and do that. As a private company, Google can treat different advertisers differently, if the company leadership wants to.

I think that the 'Susan Collins' and 'Blackwater' examples give a pretty good idea of what's permitted, and what isn't.