ReferenceGoogle Ads disapproval
Sexually explicit content
Google suspends the account upon detection and without prior warning for sexually explicit content. That covers graphic sexual acts intended to arouse, content promoting underage, non-consensual or illegal sexual themes, and deepfake pornography, including sites or apps that make it or explain how. Google calls these violations egregious, and reinstatement only happens in compelling circumstances.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- Across the whole account, rather than a single ad or asset.
- What stops
- Every ad in the account. Google says advertisers found in violation may not advertise with Google Ads again.
- How serious
- Egregious. The account is suspended upon detection and without prior warning.
What it means
This policy has less room than any content rule in this library. The page calls the violations egregious and says accounts are suspended upon detection and without prior warning. A disapproval gives a warning step first. This one does not.
The page covers three kinds of content: graphic sexual acts intended to arouse, in text, image, audio or video; content promoting underage, non-consensual or other illegal sexual themes, simulated or real; and content promoting synthetic sexual material such as deepfake pornography.
What actually triggers it
Graphic sexual content in ads
Graphic sexual acts intended to arouse are named in text, image, audio and video form. Hardcore pornography, cartoon porn and hentai are among the examples.
Underage or non-consensual sexual themes
Content promoting underage, non-consensual or illegal sexual themes is prohibited, whether simulated or real. Teen-themed pornography is among the named examples.
Deepfake sexual material
Sites or apps that generate deepfake pornography, or explain how to make it, are named, and so is endorsing or comparing such services.
Fix it in this order
- Remove the explicit material from the ads and assets in the account, before anything else is reviewed.
- If the content cannot be fixed, remove the ad, since the page gives removal as the way to help prevent future suspensions.
- If you believe the decision is an error, appeal from the account. The page says reinstatement happens only in compelling circumstances.
Reinstatement is limited by the page to compelling circumstances, so an appeal that changes nothing about the content is unlikely to help.
When to appeal
Appeal when the content on the account is not in one of the named groups, and say how the decision was made in error. Google says an appeal that finds the ads compliant lets them run again.
Often confused with
Sexual content gets serving limits and a warning first. This policy suspends the account on detection. Nudity alone is the sexual content case, and graphic sexual acts are this one.