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The real estate sector has emerged as the most violative segment in advertising during the first half of FY25, accounting for over a third of the problematic campaigns, a report said on Tuesday. The report by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) said the self-regulatory body received 4,016 complaints during the first half, of which 3,031 were investigated and 98 per cent of them needed some modification. From a media perspective, digital platforms contributed to 2,830 or 93 per cent of the ads processed by the body. When it comes to violations of the code, the real estate sector is followed by illegal betting at 29 per cent, healthcare at 8 per cent, personal care at 7 per cent, and food and beverages at 6 per cent. The body reviewed 2,115 ads from the realty sector, of which 1,027 were processed for potential violations of the MahaRERA Act, an official statement said. On the illegal betting front, the body said 890 ads were flagged to the Ministry of Information and
Google is changing the way its Google Local Services ads work, which could affect millions of small businesses. Google Local Services ads run locally and are a big way that small businesses market their goods and services. Ads appear on the top of Google search results. Starting November 21, only businesses with a verified Google Business Profile will be able to run the ads. The change affects businesses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and select businesses in the US. and Canada, Google said in an online post. The company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The change is an effort to crack down on fraud. But legitimate small businesses could be hurt if they're unaware of the change. If a small business' Google Business Profile's name and address doesn't match the information with the ad, advertising will be paused. Getting verified on Google isn't difficult, but it does take some time. Business owners must add or claim their business address on Google. Then