ReferenceGoogle Ads disapproval
Trade sanctions violation
Google Ads cannot be used by or for sanctioned parties, and Google says egregious local-law violations can suspend the account. The page names Crimea, Cuba, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, Iran and North Korea as embargoed locations, and bars campaigns for businesses located there. New accounts can be suspended at setup, and related accounts can be suspended permanently. Check the business's location and the account owner's location first.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- Across the whole account, rather than a single ad or asset.
- What stops
- Every ad in the suspended account stops running.
- How serious
- Can be egregious. Google says some local-law violations are treated as egregious and suspend the account, related accounts may be permanently suspended, and the advertiser may be unable to advertise with Google Ads again.
What it means
The policy requires compliance with applicable sanctions and export rules, including those the US Office of Foreign Assets Control administers. Google Ads cannot be used by or for restricted entities or individuals, or by entities they own or control. Advertisers located in sanctioned or embargoed countries cannot use the products, and individuals in or ordinarily residing in embargoed territories cannot create or use an account.
The page also bars geographic targeting of embargoed countries and territories, and running campaigns for businesses located in embargoed regions, even if the account owner is elsewhere. The page does not describe a sanctions-specific penalty. Its general suspension language covers local-law violations that are egregious.
What actually triggers it
Targeting an embargoed country
Geographically targeting an embargoed country or territory is prohibited. Check the location settings of every campaign for Crimea, Cuba, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, Iran and North Korea.
A business located in an embargoed region
Running campaigns for a business located in an embargoed region is prohibited, even when the account owner is elsewhere. The owner's location does not change that.
A restricted party behind the account
Running campaigns by or for restricted entities or individuals is prohibited, and so is working through entities they own or control.
A new account after a suspension
The page says new accounts may be automatically suspended at setup, and related accounts may be permanently suspended. Opening a new account to continue is the situation this warns about.
Fix it in this order
- Check the business's location and the location of the person who runs the account against the embargoed list on this page.
- Check the location settings of every campaign for the embargoed countries and territories, and remove those targets.
- If the account is suspended, follow Google's support article on fixing a suspended account, which the policy page links to.
- Do not open a replacement account while the first is suspended, since the page says new accounts may be suspended at setup.
Display & Video 360 suspensions have separate appeal guidance, which the page links to. Google Ads suspensions follow the fix article.
When to appeal
The page does not describe a sanctions-specific appeal. Use the fix article for the suspended account, and do not appeal while a location or ownership rule on this page still applies.
Often confused with
Also an account suspension that can reach new accounts. This one is about sanctioned locations and ownership. Circumventing systems is about getting around Google's review.