Google said Friday it has removed 175.5 million policy-violating ads in South Korea last year, as the US tech giant stepped up enforcement using its artificial intelligence model Gemini.
The figures were disclosed in Google’s “2025 Ads Safety Report,” which showed that more than 99 percent of offending ads were blocked before reaching users — a shift that reflects the company’s increasing reliance on automated screening.
Worldwide, Google said it blocked or removed over 8.3 billion ads in 2024. The company also suspended 24.9 million advertiser accounts and took action against more than 245,000 websites found to be in breach of its policies.
In South Korea, enforcement was equally pronounced, with 326,000 advertiser accounts suspended for policy violations.
Copyright infringement accounted for the largest share of violations, followed by abuse of the ad network, dating and companionship services, misrepresentation and sexually explicit content.
A Google official said the company is leaning more heavily on artificial intelligence and external partnerships to keep pace with a rapidly evolving advertising ecosystem.
“We are actively leveraging AI and partnerships to respond to the fast-changing ad environment,” the official said. “We will continue efforts to provide a safer online space for both users and publishers.”
yeeun@heraldcorp.com
