The company says that as of January, advertisers will only be able to target U.S. political ads based on broad categories such as gender, age and postal code. Currently, ads can be tailored for more specific groups — for instance, using information gleaned from public voter logs, such as political affiliation.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is making political ads harder to target at specific types of people.

The company is also requiring advertiser verification for a broader range of political messages. Previously, only ads mentioning candidates or officeholders for federal positions required verification. Now that will also include ads touching on state officials and candidates as well as ballot measures.


The move follows Twitter’s ban of political ads, which goes into effect on Friday.