Google settles abortion ad case

The Christian Institute is delighted to confirm that our legal proceedings against Google for blocking our abortion ad have been settled on amicable terms.

As a result of the court action and other representations made to Google in recent months, Google has reviewed its AdWords policy to enable The Christian Institute and other religious associations to place ads on the subject of abortion in a factual and campaigning way.

The new policy will apply world-wide with immediate effect. This is an important issue of free speech and religious liberty and we are pleased with Google’s constructive response to this matter.

Background

In March 2008 The Christian Institute tried to place this ad with AdWords (Google’s search related advertising system): “UK abortion law: Key views and news on abortion law from The Christian Institute. https://www.christian.org.uk.”

The ad was rejected for “inappropriate content” because Google had a policy of not advertising sites which combined “abortion and religion-related content”. Google did allow non-religious sites to place ads on the subject of abortion.

In April 2008 lawyers acting for The Christian Institute launched a legal action against Google under the Equality Act 2006 which prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion in the provision of a good or service.