Google has decided to exit from the pornography advertising business, banning pornographic websites from using the company's advertising network AdWords.
AdWords puts advertisements both in search results and in external websites. With the ban by Google, advertisements that may not contain explicit words but provide a link to explicit websites will also not be allowed any more.
"Beginning in the coming weeks, we'll no longer accept ads that promote graphic depictions of sexual acts including, but not limited to, hardcore pornography; graphic sexual acts including sex acts such as masturbation; genital, anal, and oral sexual activity," said Google in an e-mail sent to porn companies using AdWords.
The changes were first announced by Google in March, with a reminder sent to advertisers just a few weeks ago.
However, some companies in the porn business were still surprised by Google's decision.
"I was caught by surprise," said AVN Media Network CEO and chairman Theo Sapoutzis. "I was one of the very first advertisers for AdWords back in 2002. It's something that's been [untouched] for 12 years, so you don't expect change is going to start happening."
Insiders in the adult industry say that the impact of this move by Google may not be clear right away. This is because word about adult content, which includes streaming video, webcam shows and the personal pages of adult film stars, are often passed around through word of mouth and through normal search results, as opposed to AdWords-related content.
People working in the adult industry, however, are concerned that Google's decision to block porn in AdWords may be a precursor to the future of how Google will work with the porn industry.
According to Michael Fattorosi, an attorney at Fattorosi & Associates that represents companies in the porn industry, Google's move is another example of how a mainstream company is turning its back on porn when the industry has given Google huge support.
The pending question, asks Fattorosi, is whether Google will completely block adult content from the company's search results.
There have recently been several companies that have cut off ties with companies and individuals involved in the porn industry. In April, Chase Bank shut down hundreds of accounts that are linked to people working in the adult film industry. In May, Amazon started removing the online wish lists of adult film actresses. PayPal has also recently started closing the accounts of porn stars.
Last summer, Google deleted blogs on Blogger that were making an income through the posting of pornographic advertisements.
