{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=15CDA587-973E-4833-B417-5A29F035174F", "Following New Investigation, Warner & Slotkin Press Google on Misrepresentation in Ads Targeted to Users Searching for Abortion Services", "2022-11-22", "2022", "2022-11", "Democrat", "Senate", "VA", "Mark R. Warner", "W000805", "www.warner.senate.gov", "warner", "https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) wrote to Sundar Pichai \u2013 the CEO of Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary Google \u2013 urging him to curb deceptive advertisements and ensure that users receive accurate information when searching for abortion services on the platform. This letter comes on the heels of an investigation that reveals how Google regularly fails to apply disclaimer labels to misleading ads by anti-abortion clinics. It also follows a successful effort by Sen. Warner and Rep. Slotkin who previously urged Google to take action to prevent misleading search results for anti-abortion clinics. This push ultimately led Google to clearly label facilities that provide abortions and prevent users from being misled by fake clinics or crisis pregnancy centers.\n\n\u201cWe are encouraged by and appreciative of the recent steps Google has taken to protect those searching for abortion services from being mistakenly directed to clinics that do not offer comprehensive reproductive health services. However, we ask you to address issues with misrepresentation in advertising on Google\u2019s site and take a more expansive, proactive approach to addressing violations of Google\u2019s stated policy,\u201d wrote the lawmakers.\n\n\u201cAccording to an investigation by Bloomberg News and the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), depending on the search term used, Google does not consistently apply disclaimer labels to ads by anti-abortion clinics. CCDH recently conducted searches that returned 132 misleading ads for such clinics that lacked disclaimers. Specifically, researchers found that queries for terms such as \u2018Plan C pills,\u2019 \u2018pregnancy help,\u2019 and \u2018Planned Parenthood\u2019 often returned results with ads that are not labeled accurately,\u201d they continued. \u201cFurthermore, the Tech Transparency Project found that some ads from \u2018crisis pregnancy centers,\u2019 even when they were properly labeled, the ads themselves included deliberately deceptive verbiage aimed at tricking users into believing that they offer abortion services. For example, ads for \u2018crisis pregnancy centers\u2019 were found to contain language such as \u2018Free Abortion Pill\u2019 and \u2018First Trimester Abortion.\u2019 Such deceptive advertising likely reduces the effectiveness of labels and may lead to detrimental health outcomes for users who receive delayed treatment.\u201d\n\nIn addition to urging Google to rectify these issues, the lawmakers also requested answers to the following questions:\n\nWhat specific search terms does Google consider related to \u201cgetting an abortion\u201d?\n\nWhat criteria does Google use to determine whether specific queries are related to \u201cgetting an abortion\u201d?\n\nWhat additional steps will Google take to identify and remove ads with misleading verbiage that violates Google\u2019s policies against misrepresentation?\n\nA copy of the letter is available here and full text of the letter can be found below:\n\nDear Mr. Pichai,\n\nWe write today regarding the responsibility that Google has to ensure users receive accurate information when searching for abortion services on your platform. We are encouraged by and appreciative of the recent steps Google has taken to protect those searching for abortion services from being mistakenly directed to clinics that do not offer comprehensive reproductive health services. However, we ask you to address issues with misrepresentation in advertising on Google\u2019s site and take a more expansive, proactive approach to addressing violations of Google\u2019s stated policy.\n\nOn June 17, 2022, we wrote to you, along with 19 other senators and representatives, regarding research that showed Google results for searches such as \u201cabortion services near me\u201d often included links to clinics that are anti-abortion, sometimes called \u201ccrisis pregnancy centers.\u201d We were extremely concerned with this practice of directing users toward \u201ccrisis pregnancy centers\u201d without any disclaimer indicating those businesses do not provide abortions.\n\nWe were pleased to see the changes you have made in response to our letter, such as the new refinement tool that allows users to only see facilities verified to offer abortion services, while still preserving the option to see a broader range of search results. The steps you have taken will help prevent users from mistakenly being sent to organizations that attempt to deceive individuals into thinking they provide comprehensive health services and instead, regularly provide users with disinformation regarding the risks of abortion. As many states are increasingly narrowing the window between getting a positive pregnancy test and when you can terminate a pregnancy, every day counts.\n\nBut we find ourselves again asking that Google live up to its promises with regards to preventing misleading ads on its platform. According to an investigation by Bloomberg News and the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), depending on the search term used, Google does not consistently apply disclaimer labels to ads by anti-abortion clinics. CCDH recently conducted searches that returned 132 misleading ads for such clinics that lacked disclaimers. Specifically, researchers found that queries for terms such as \u201cPlan C pills,\u201d \u201cpregnancy help,\u201d and \u201cPlanned Parenthood\u201d often returned results with ads that are not labeled accurately. We believe Google\u2019s failure to apply disclaimer labels to these common searches appears to be a violation of your June 2019 policy that requires \u201cadvertisers who want to run ads using keywords related to getting an abortion\u201d to go through a verification process and be labeled as a provider that \u201cProvides abortions\u201d or \u201cDoes not provide abortions.\u201d\n\nFurthermore, the Tech Transparency Project found that some ads from \u201ccrisis pregnancy centers,\u201d even when they were properly labeled, the ads themselves included deliberately deceptive verbiage aimed at tricking users into believing that they offer abortion services. For example, ads for \u201ccrisis pregnancy centers\u201d were found to contain language such as \u201cFree Abortion Pill\u201d and \u201cFirst Trimester Abortion.\u201d Such deceptive advertising likely reduces the effectiveness of labels and may lead to detrimental health outcomes for users who receive delayed treatment. These ads appear to violate Google\u2019s policy on misrepresentation, which prohibits ads that \u201cdeceive users.\u201d Your responsiveness to our first letter gives us hope that you are willing to see this issue through. We, therefore, would appreciate answers to the following questions:\n\nWhat specific search terms does Google consider related to \u201cgetting an abortion\u201d?\n\nWhat criteria does Google use to determine whether specific queries are related to \u201cgetting an abortion\u201d?\n\nWhat additional steps will Google take to identify and remove ads with misleading verbiage that violates Google\u2019s policies against misrepresentation?\n\nWe urge you to take proactive action to rectify these and any additional issues surrounding misleading ads, and help ensure users receive search results that accurately address their queries and are relevant to their intentions.\n\nThanks for your consideration, and we look forward to your timely response.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:38:01Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=15CDA587-973E-4833-B417-5A29F035174F"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7221151608973742, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}