Cryptocurrency ads: Twitter likely to ban Initial Coin Offerings ads after Facebook and Google

Cryptocurrency ads: After Facebook and Google, Twitter was now likely to ban cryptocurrency, token sales and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) advertisements on its platform. According to a Sky News report on Monday, the new Twitter policy will be implemented in two weeks. "Twitter may also ban all ads for cryptocurrency exchanges, with some limited exceptions, when the policy is launched," the report added. Google last week announced that it will ban advertisements for cryptocurrencies and other "speculative financial products" across its ad platforms. The ban on such advertisements will come into force from June. 

"We updated several policies to address ads in unregulated or speculative financial products like binary options, cryptocurrency, foreign exchange markets and contracts for difference (or CFDs)," Scott Spencer, Google`s Director of Sustainable Ads, said in a blog post. "In June 2018, Google will update the financial services policy to restrict the advertisement of contracts for difference, rolling spot forex and financial spread betting," Google said. In 2017, Google took down more than 3.2 billion ads that violated its advertising policies.

Google also blocked 79 million ads in its network for attempting to send people to malware-laden sites and removed 400,000 of these unsafe sites last year.

In January, social media giant Facebook banned all ads promoting cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and ICOs.

The new policy prohibits ads that promote financial products and services that are frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices, Facebook said in a statement.

"We want people to continue to discover and learn about new products and services through Facebook ads without fear of scams or deception.

"That said, there are many companies who are advertising binary options, ICOs and cryptocurrencies that are not currently operating in good faith," said Rob Leathern, Product Management Director at Facebook.