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Google Will Ban All Cryptocurrency-related Advertising (cnbc.com)

Posted by msmash on from the taking-a-stand dept.

Google is cracking down on cryptocurrency-related advertising. From a report: The company is updating its financial services-related ad policies to ban any advertising about cryptocurrency-related content, including initial coin offerings (ICOs), wallets, and trading advice, Google's director of sustainable ads, Scott Spencer, told CNBC. That means that even companies with legitimate cryptocurrency offerings won't be allowed to serve ads through any of Google's ad products, which place advertising on its own sites as well as third-party websites. This update will go into effect in June 2018, according to a company post. "We don't have a crystal ball to know where the future is going to go with cryptocurrencies, but we've seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it's an area that we want to approach with extreme caution," Scott said.

108 comments

  1. Let Google tell us about the other side too... by bogaboga · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "... but we've seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it's an area that we want to approach with extreme caution,

    I would like Google to tell us whether they have seen any customer benefit at all.

    Or Slashdotters can tell us: Anyone know of any benefit related to cryptocurrencies?

    1. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 4, Funny

      I would like Google to tell us whether they have seen any customer benefit at all.

      Beat that title:

      "Google's director of sustainable ads"

      I'm guessing that title gets him to the front of the line at restaurant queues in Silicon Valley:

      "I'm sorry, Madonna, but we have to serve the VIP Director of Sustainable Ads first."

      Actually, I would rather have a beer with Google's Director of Unsustainable Ads. He's probably more amusing and more fun at parties.

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    2. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Anyone know of any benefit related to cryptocurrencies?

      I can get a project funded without having PayPal/Visa/Mastcard/etc hold my funds "because reason".

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    3. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by mwvdlee · · Score: 2

      There's always somebody at the top of each pyramid scheme. Plenty of benefits there.

      --
      Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
    4. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 2

      I personally don't recall having seen any ads for Cryptocurrency, but there again I don't pay attention to ads. When an app on my phone plays a video I always turn my phone away from my face to not watch it... I'd rather watch a wall.

      That said, don't see the harm in ads for Cryptocurrency. One's that mine from the ad... now those are bad.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    5. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I do. Know a guy who made $400k USD. I myself was doing pretty ok with a coin backed hotspot network that we had just started to also turn on device mining when FF decided to kill us there. We were not doing it shady, people had to allow it.

    6. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I bought $150 in bitcoin back when it was $1.00 a coin. My benefit is that it is now worth over 1.3 million dollars not counting the alt coins that split the blockchain.

      The other benefit is that there are a lot of things that you can not sell and have the customer pay with a credit card or paypal as they are deemed too risky. Cryptocurrencies work with all those transactions.

    7. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by bickerdyke · · Score: 2

      Actually, I would rather have a beer with Google's Director of Unsustainable Ads. He's probably more amusing and more fun at parties.

      May I suggest Google's former Director of Search Quality? who else could give the Job Title of "porn cookie guy"....

      --
      bickerdyke
    8. Re: Let Google tell us about the other side too... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and the next day your funding is only worth half what it was...but wait, a couple days later it will double. Then three days later itâ(TM)s worth 1/4 the original.

    9. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've been paying my rent based on market fluctuations for the last year. My capital investment remains untouched.

      Seems pretty beneficial.

    10. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would like Google to tell us whether they have seen any customer benefit at all.

      I would like you to tell me if there is any customer benefit from robbery and extortion schemes.

      I would like you to tell me if there is any customer benefit to money laundering.

      I would like you to tell me if there is any customer benefit to drug dealing.

      I would like you to to tell me if there is any customer benefit to stock markets scams.

      See, if the measure of if something is potentially good is that someone comes out of it ahead of someone else, then sure, any form of crime is exactly what you say. But that's not how we measure such things, thankfully. There's been enough actual crime in the cryptocurrency market that it can't be called legitimate. Lie/cheat/steam on the stock market, your ass goes to jail. Lie/cheat/steal on a cryptocurrency market, and you're suddenly the winner? Fuck that.

      What Google is saying is "you know, there's some shenanigans here, there's no regulation, and there's been a lot of criminal activity ... as a result, we don't want our ad revenue to come from what is potentially shady players".

      Google doesn't owe you an advertising platform for your cryptocurrency related stuff. Boo hoo, the big mean advertiser won't sell my ads.

      Get the fuck over it, and shut the fuck up about it.

      It's their platform, their terms of service, and their reputation on the line if some shady assholes start buying ads on their platform. And they're not going to stick their necks out for people who think this magical unicorn is a good idea.

      Cryptocurrency is just totally uncontrolled and unregulated speculative investing which claims to be beyond government control. As such, it needs to be treated as such.

      Because so far I've seen it to be about as reliable as a back-alley drug deal. Absent any legal controls, cryptocurrencies have about as much legitimacy as a Ponzi scheme.

      You should be totally not surprised that the mainstream is backing away from it. You might as well give some guy named Shady Larry a wad of cash and hope he's going to get you a good return on investment.

      Me, I've always said cryptocurrency was way over-hyped. It was never going to be this magical unicorn which existed outside of laws, but was somehow legitimate.

    11. Re: Let Google tell us about the other side too... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sure and when some pos robs a 7-11 and gets away with it there is someone who benefited. That does not mean robbing 7-11 is good.

    12. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by supremebob · · Score: 1

      Well, if you were smart enough to mine a few hundred Bitcoin back in 2010 and held onto them, you would be a millionaire now.

      As an actual currency, though, it kind of sucks. The transaction fees are high, the confirmation time takes way too long, and the value of your "currency" can swing in value by over 30% in a week. That last statement alone is enough to prevent most "real" transactions being done with the before converting it to something like USD first.

      Personally, I think that Google is more worried about the sites forgoing advertising and using a crypto miner running in the background instead. That kind of kills their ad based revenue model.

    13. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      "... but we've seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it's an area that we want to approach with extreme caution,

      I would like Google to tell us whether they have seen any customer benefit at all.

      Or Slashdotters can tell us: Anyone know of any benefit related to cryptocurrencies?

      Wat? They could easily use that same excuse for investing in Stock or Futures Markets, or precious metals. Bitcoin and others are fools games and a bubble waiting to burst, but risk equals potential for harm.

      It would be smarter to simply claim Bitcoin et al are dumb.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    14. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      Also: If you'd bought shares in Apple when they were lowest, or any one of the thousands of investments that require 20:20 hindsight to work properly.

      Which part of "ICO" doesn't scream out "a bunch of guys have just invented a 'coin', kept a hoard for themselves and are now hoping people will be stupid enough to buy them"?

      --
      No sig today...
    15. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Wat? They could easily use that same excuse for investing in Stock or Futures Markets, or precious metals.

      Except financial markets are regulated, requiring disclosure laws and other things you need to be doing (like monitoring suspicious transactions). Laws govern what can and can't be done.

      Bitcoin and others, by design apparently, reject that this is something that applies to them. Because they're special and smeared themselves with unicorn poop, and therefore exempt.

      Having done that, don't pretend to be a legitimate financial market and whine like a little girl when people point out that you aren't.

      You can't have it both ways; it's either exempt from regulation, and therefore completely unregulated and less trusted ... or it's regulated and subject to the same laws as everyone else in the financial industry.

      Bitcoin acts like you've set up a lemonade stand where anybody can put up a sign that says "Bob's Stock Market", and any idiot with no qualifications can build an exchange, an ICO, or whatever scam they can think of. And if that collapses, or gets hacked, you get no legal recourse.

      Stop fucking whining about it, and ether accept that by not being regulated these things have about as much security as dealing with crooks, or accept regulation.

      Nobody is forcing you to use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. But absolutely nobody promised you that you'd get to play in the same patch as everyone else and not be subject to laws.

      Take your pick, but please, shut the fuck up about it.

      Nobody cares that your self-decreed "free from government regulation" currency runs into problems precisely because it's not operating under government regulation.

      You want to have your own black market currency? Great, have fun -- good luck and be prepared to live with the consequences. You want the world to legitimise your black market currency? Too fucking bad.

    16. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by edtice1559 · · Score: 1

      For this you could use something like Square Cash. Or you know a check.

    17. Re: Let Google tell us about the other side too... by houghi · · Score: 1

      It is like the sheppard who kills the wolf and tells the herd it is for their interest. Some will indeed live longer before being brought to the slsughter house. The sheppard did it for himself. Correlation is not causation.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    18. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by gnick · · Score: 3

      top of each pyramid

      Pump & dump for cryptocurrency is organized, profitable, and mostly legal. John Oliver did a good piece on cryptocurrencies over the weekend that touches on this and other misbehavior.

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    19. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Square still relies on credit cards.

      As for checks, you expect someone with a kickstarter/etc to ask every backer to send him a check?

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    20. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by edtice1559 · · Score: 1

      You don't have to mail the check You can use ACH. And the transaction fees are way lower than Bitcoin.

    21. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by war4peace · · Score: 1

      Bitcoin and others, by design apparently, reject that this is something that applies to them. Because they're special and smeared themselves with unicorn poop, and therefore exempt.

      Actually...
      Bitcoin et al. were created to fill a gap, to fulfill a need in the world. It is the need to free oneself from the mostly unnecessary regulation. Now, this is at least what the theory is. In practice, the whole cryptocurrency thing is not yet mature. There are doors wide open for abuse, indeed, and there's risk, of course. It's a Wild West kind of thing.

      The good news is the market is slowly maturing and stabilizes. Most shitcoins are doing badly, their value dropping steadily, which is expected because they bring little-to-no value to the market. Bitcoin itself is amazingly stable, if you look at last 30 days valuation. I'd venture to say 2018 is the year of cryptocurrency maturation and interesting things will happen.

      Now, I generally see lots and lots of people talking out of their collective asses about cryptocurrencies, and they consistently have little to no clue what the fuck they are talking about. Their information comes from crappy mainstream news aggregators and they never bothered to properly investigate the subject; as such, invalid information is being propagated. I'll briefly address some of the most widely peddled:

      - "cryptocurrencies are used for illegal transaction" - used to be mostly true, nowadays it's mostly false. There are literally tens of thousands stores which legally accept Bitcoin, here's how you can look them up: https://coinmap.org/
      - "tulip bulbs" - there's very little overlap between a classic bubble and cryptobubble. Yes, I still believe there is a cryptobubble right now, and that Bitcoin and by extension all other coins are over-valuated as of now, but the overvaluation is far from being in the tens of thousands percent, as most people imply. My take, based on studying the market for the last year or so, is that BTC should stabilize at around 6K to 6.5K USD a piece, and then slowly creep up over time. Its value can't fall to zero by design: the fewer miners, the easier it is to mine, and the other way around. Most mineable coins are designed the same way, it's just some of them don't add any value for now.
      - "it's risky" - yeah, you bet it is. So is answering to a Nigerian Prince, or any other thing in life, really: if you don't keep your eyes peeled, you can become a victim. Taking a loan from the bank can do that to you just as well, only the bank loan has no chance of making you rich :)

      Alternatives to the establishment are always welcome in my opinion: they rock the boat and disturb the status quo. Revolution? Maybe, maybe not, but the world was built by those who weren't happy with the status quo.

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    22. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Bitcoin is not the only game in town. Transaction fees in Dogecoin, for example, are about half a cent at most.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    23. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Wat? They could easily use that same excuse for investing in Stock or Futures Markets, or precious metals.

      Except financial markets are regulated, requiring disclosure laws and other things you need to be doing (like monitoring suspicious transactions).

      Most Bolshy whooshes to you, citizen. For all of your rather long winded reply, it wasn't related to what I wrote. My response was to Google's screed about people losing money. Specifically

      "... but we've seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it's an area that we want to approach with extreme caution,"

      Which applies to both bitcoin, stock market, precious metals, and futures. People can and do lose money in each - every day. regulations or no regulations. Its pretty lame when Google is sooooooo concerned about people losing money on bitcoin, while apparently it is no issue at all in any other investment.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    24. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by Sir+Holo · · Score: 1

      "... but we've seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it's an area that we want to approach with extreme caution,

      I would like Google to tell us whether they have seen any customer benefit at all.

      Or Slashdotters can tell us: Anyone know of any benefit related to cryptocurrencies?

      Benefits? When has customer benefit EVER been involved in the Marketing Department's thought process? It's sell it at whatever price the market will bear, not on a fixed margin or sustainable growth curve.

      QUESTION: Does Google ban ads for guns?

    25. Re:Let Google tell us about the other side too... by h4ck7h3p14n37 · · Score: 1

      Anyone know of any benefit related to cryptocurrencies?

      You can transmit value around the world without first getting a third-party's approval.

      The unbanked can transmit and receive value using their cellphones.

      Court judgments can't seize your coins/tokens without your permission unlike your bank and investment accounts, home, cars, etc.

  2. Team Google World Police by SmaryJerry · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Seriously, can they please just be a carrier of information again rather than policing the entire web already. YouTube already requires you have a childrenâ(TM)s show or you get demonetized, now they decide what is risky for you. They need to stop assuming everyone online has an IQ of 5 and let people think for themselves.

    1. Re:Team Google World Police by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah, so you're saying that you don't use an ad blocker like 99% of the other people here, and therefore actually give a damn which ads are shown?

  3. You wanted a black market .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Redundant

    If the goal was always to have cyrptocurrency be some magical unicorn which is outside of government control, then it was always doomed to become a black market.

    It's an unregulated financial market, rife with fraud, scams, and other crap. The problem is it wants to play on equal footings with real financial markets, where there are a LOT of regulations which say what you can and can't do.

    Personally, I'm tired of hearing about cryptocurrency, it's like the .com era, so much hype and people hoping to get rich, and so little substance.

    Maybe we can all stop hearing about this shit, and you guys can go back to having a black market for imaginary money which is used to buy and sell drugs.

    But let's not pretend cyprocurrencies are a legitimate financial industry, because it isn't.

    Like PayPal isn't a bank and doesn't play by the rules of a bank, this stuff doesn't have any rules, and its proponents seem to think that's a good idea.

    Me, I'll just keep laughing when I hear people have lost their shirts in this. It's like the Dutch and tulips ... this is a self inflicted wound caused by completely irrational and stupid things.

  4. ftw by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't you love it when someone else knows more about what you need than you do? Makes me feel all warm and not really giving a shit about anything, or anybody.

    1. Re:ftw by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      if you think you need bitcoin, then yes everyone else already does indeed know more about what you need than you do

  5. Google pay anti-trust lawsuit. by goombah99 · · Score: 1

    Nah its not even that misguidedly altruistic. Simply put it competes with google pay.

    Next they will ban paypal and visa

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re:Google pay anti-trust lawsuit. by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      Two things. Government is nagging at them behind the scenes through unofficial channels AND it is a great opportunity in the midst of that to eliminate the competition.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    2. Re:Google pay anti-trust lawsuit. by SirSlud · · Score: 1

      Next they will ban paypal and visa

      They've had a decade plus to do that, and they haven't. Anyone can say something will happen if they don't have to be around when they're wrong.

      --
      "Old man yells at systemd"
  6. Prediction by Teppy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I take this to mean that Google will release their own cryptocurrency in about 6 months.

    1. Re:Prediction by GregMmm · · Score: 1

      Exactly.

      Sir, that will cost you 5 Googs. Sorry we don't advertise for the competition, I mean the bad cryptocurrency. You can trust Google...

  7. Re:Oh, darn... by datavirtue · · Score: 3, Insightful

    They are probably acting on behalf of the US government. This sounds really weasel-like. If they were serious about consumer harm there should be an announcement like this twice a day. Most scams don't get any attention.

    --
    I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
  8. Fahrenheit 0b111000011 by goombah99 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sanitizing content is the digital equivalent of burning books.

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re:Fahrenheit 0b111000011 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh shut the fuck up you alarmist fuckwit.

    2. Re:Fahrenheit 0b111000011 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tru dat.

    3. Re:Fahrenheit 0b111000011 by bickerdyke · · Score: 2

      It's about ads, not content. That's the difference.

      No one wants books to be burnt or otherwise destroyed, as you never know if you may need it and want to get your hands on it.

      Ads on the other hands... like garbage, that should be burnt. And if I have it thrown at me against my will, it better should be sanitized.

      --
      bickerdyke
    4. Re:Fahrenheit 0b111000011 by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      So an article about an ICO might be shown, but an 'ad' for the ICO not?

      Really. This is stupid. Can Google please stop censoring the Internet, or offer a reasonable explanation why ICO ads aren't allowed? Like SEC violations?

      As if Kickstarter hasn't actually been used for what, in every so slightly different form, would be an improper public offering.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    5. Re:Fahrenheit 0b111000011 by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      Oh, and while I'm ranting, the radio ads hear for refi offers that includes, among other reasons you might want to 'cash out' on your home's equity, 'cash in on the Bitcoin slump'.

      This is nearly criminal. Nearly.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    6. Re:Fahrenheit 0b111000011 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No. Not accepting ad dollars for scammers pushing Ponzi schemes on the under educated public is just good business, and I'd argue civically responsible.

    7. Re:Fahrenheit 0b111000011 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So an article about an ICO might be shown, but an 'ad' for the ICO not?

      Not really arguing with you (nor agreeing with you; I don't really care one way or the other), but it's worth pointing out that there is a difference. Articles have to compete on merit to get upranked in the news or search results. Ads just have to compete on payment. So if you're a successful scammer you can always get your ads highly ranked just by bidding more money, which makes it easier to abuse Google's systems as part of your scam. It's harder to do that with articles.

      Note the key phrase above: "abuse Google's systems". Google isn't doing this as some sort of public service, they're doing it to keep themselves out of the line of fire if (when?) the cryptocurrency craze crashes in a wash of lawsuits. Articles aren't so much of an issue because highly-ranked articles are highly ranked due to the actions of others (linking to them, etc.) and because Google doesn't directly profit. Ads, where Google is both more directly involved and stands at risk of being accused of profiting from scammers, are a very different situation.

    8. Re:Fahrenheit 0b111000011 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So an AD about a book discussing the risks of cryptocurrency and all the pitfalls will be banned?
      Does Google (or anyone) have a list of all topics/items that Google bans? Either ADs or links/articles (seriously)
      - Any controversial subject could qualify

      Agree with SmaryJerry: "Seriously, can they please just be a carrier of information again rather than policing the entire web already."

    9. Re:Fahrenheit 0b111000011 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can idiot posters stop confusing being unwilling to do business with a scammy company with censorship?

      A crapload of ICOs have turned out to be nothing more than fraudulent money grabs, so Google is well within their right to say "fuck it" and stop letting them advertise on their system.

    10. Re:Fahrenheit 0b111000011 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can Google please stop censoring the Internet, or offer a reasonable explanation why ICO ads aren't allowed? Like SEC violations?

      ICO Ads aren't allowed because they are the primary tool used by bad actors to pump-and-dump various crypto currencies.

      buy lots of a coin over a brief period to create an upward trend, then take out ads at the final hour which seek to exploit people's FOMO in order to unload your holdings at a higher price point.

      Google is preventing a form of exploitation that exists because the government is seriously behind the curve in regulating securities masquerading as currency.

    11. Re:Fahrenheit 0b111000011 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Once again, Google simply does not have the power to censor the internet. We aren't even talking about censoring search results here (although they do this to some extent - lawmakers and courts forced them to). They are merely curating ads they serve over their ad network. Nobody is threatening your precious freeze peach.

    12. Re: Fahrenheit 0b111000011 by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      Curating. Like they're curating ads for AR-15 anything.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
  9. This is bad by tacokill · · Score: 0

    Where does it stop and what is he limiting criteria to stop it?

    1. Re:This is bad by BlueStrat · · Score: 0

      Where does it stopM/quote>

      History teaches us that such things never stop until they are forcibly stopped.

      what is he limiting criteria to stop it?

      Again, history teaches us that it devolves down almost exclusively to the people's willingness and ability to pick up a rifle and kill the bastages.

      Strat

      --
      Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
    2. Re:This is bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Again, history teaches us that it devolves down almost exclusively to the people's willingness and ability to pick up a rifle and kill the bastages.

      Strat

      That's NRA apologists bullshit.

    3. Re:This is bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Aww, golly-gee! Were you triggered, Snowflake?

      Welcome to the real world where political power flows from the barrel of a gun. Stop being proud of your ignorance and go read a history book.

      The NRA is 5 million-plus armed Americans who are almost never involved in any sort of gun violence or criminality compared to the general population.

      It's those Democratic voters in those Democratic controlled cities with the strictest gun laws that commit the overwhelmingly vast majority of criminal gun violence but solving the problem would mean minority voters leaving the Democratic slave plantation, so Democratic leaders allow the wholly-preventable violence, bloodshed, and slaughter to continue in Democratic controlled cities to advance Democratic power and agendas.

      Compared to the murderous Democratic leadership, the NRA are fully-canonized Saints.

  10. Ad Network vs Searches by sqorbit · · Score: 2

    They didn't say they were going to ban or filter searches for info on cryptocurrencies. They just don't want it in the ad network. I don't really see the problem here. The ad network is there business and they need to adjust to what they see is good for business.

    --
    Sent from my TARDIS
    1. Re:Ad Network vs Searches by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Google has served me tons of annoying adds that try to trick me into entering my CC to watch lol catz.

      What's so special about crypto that requires banning?

  11. As long as .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...they place it on the other side of "safe search" and I can turn it off, then its 'fine'. However if they do not, they are slipping down a long steep slope and will see users end up leaving.

  12. No, this isn't a conspiracy. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is because those of you know understand and advocate for cryptocurrency told your stupid Facebook friends it's a great investment, and it turned bubbly.

    Next time, don't tell your stupid Facebook friends.

  13. You from the first world... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    For me living in a poor country where I've lived in the flesh an endless cycle of devaluation and inflation, holding bitcoin has become a real escape from my worthless currency. The value of bitcoin has surely had wild swings, but it is now several times higher than it was five years ago, while my currency has lost 30% against USD.

    I got into bitcoin in 2013 not because I heard anyone saying I'd become rich, but because I got excited on the principles of a decentralized permissionless cryptographic protocol, an immutable ledger and a limited supply.

    Lots of envious people badly want it to fail, but bitcoin has shown such resilience that I'm personally not scared that it will.

    1. Re: You from the first world... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why didn't you mention where you live? This sounds like a made up anecdote to me.

    2. Re: You from the first world... by suman28 · · Score: 1

      Don't you get it? He surely must mean he lives in America

  14. In bed with their own research by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    google is in bed with their own R&D -- they are developing their own... ala... why allow competitors to thrive in their world..

    i would not allow my competition to advertise in my present and future space either.

  15. This is great news by TheSimkin · · Score: 1

    This is great news. The "ads" for cyrptocurrencies and bitcoin and exchanges have been overwhelmed with phishing scams and missinformation. The organic results will be much better than any ads in this space!

  16. No benefit to almost everyone by sjbe · · Score: 1

    Or Slashdotters can tell us: Anyone know of any benefit related to cryptocurrencies?

    No. Next question.

    Seriously, most of them are rather transparent pyramid schemes or similar scams designed to separate the gullible from their "real" money. The few that aren't are just an answer to a problem nobody has except criminals.

  17. lol by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    lol turdcoin lol

  18. EXCEPT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As soon as the Federal Reserve or U.S. Government or U.N. want to establish a crypto currency, Google will be happy to advertise it.

  19. Not a question of smarts by sjbe · · Score: 1

    Well, if you were smart enough to mine a few hundred Bitcoin back in 2010 and held onto them, you would be a millionaire now.

    Lucky is the word you are looking for. There was no logic that would have lead you to believe that mining bitcoin would result in vast riches. Therefore smart doesn't play into it. It was a gamble that paid off for a lucky few, barely different than having a winning lottery ticket.

    As an actual currency, though, it kind of sucks.

    You don't need the "kind of" qualifier. It sucks. It's expensive, volatile, risky, awkward, not accepted many places, slow, and did I mention expensive? Transaction costs for bitcoin are WAY higher than for dollar transactions in almost all cases. (except those where jail time is a concern)

  20. Re:Oh, darn... by eth1 · · Score: 1

    They are probably acting on behalf of the US government. This sounds really weasel-like. If they were serious about consumer harm there should be an announcement like this twice a day. Most scams don't get any attention.

    Surprisingly, I kinda have to side with Google on this one. A *currency* shouldn't need advertising - it's not a product, but a medium of exchange. If someone's advertising it, it means they're trying to gain something, and with a currency, almost by definition, if someone else is gaining, you're losing.

  21. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You spend hours a day on a Youtube channel with 7 subscribers. Wouldn't it make more sense to get some basic programming knowledge and upgrade your job?

  22. So now is a good time to buy right gais? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Youre such whores.

    BitWhores.

    SHAME.

  23. Re: Behold.. the American! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So brave. Very bigly. Much raeped by chinks. lol.

  24. obCasablanca by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

    I am shocked, shocked that Google would want to disassociate itself from solid businesses like pyramid scheme phony currencies!

    {your bitcoin winnings sir}

    Thank you.

  25. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A *currency*... [is] not a product...

    NOW who's being naive?

  26. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Speech therapy and some dentures should be his priorities.

  27. Re: APK Hosts File Engine already does... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Warning: APK hosts file engine contains a miner built in that eats your resources while making APK some coin.

    When confronted APK replied with "can Adblock mine coins? No? APK can."

    To which the reporter replied with: "what?"

    Moral of the story: don't trust a random stranger on the internet spamming shit.

  28. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought you had ONE AND ONLY TROLL, Chris? Which sockpocket are you using to get karma back? Is _Sharp'r_ somehow involved in this?

    It's not normal that you're suddenly getting modded up for your abysmal shitty posts.

    cdreimer waddling to work after he missed the bus

  29. so they need to pay more, got it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Advertisement is their business model, they didn't make anything against native advertisement or any of those high frequency trading pyramid scams (forex and is a scam too).

  30. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Shit, it's normal when his sockpocket crreimer is getting karma. Fuck, this guy is like moths, you think you got them all but there was a larva hiding under a molding eating skin flakes and dust! Next thing you know is that you have a moth in your underwear drawer, drawn to the smell of feces.

    A 400 pound shit-eating moth that reproduces asexually and makes unpleasant videos every week.

  31. Gambling is fine though by Maelwryth · · Score: 1

    It seems a little strange that Google will ban cryptocurrency advertising but still allow gambling.

    --
    I reserve the write to mangle english.
  32. All hail the return of retard APK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    All hail the return of retarded Alexander Peter Kowalski

    Always at the ready to spam his ineffective security wares that will never stop an unknown threat

    His work is just as effective as an AV scanner that matches based only off of file names for the most well known viruses from last week

    We can all look forward to his piss poor arguments, lack of basic math comprehension, inability to read, and petty name calling

  33. I'm seeing an ICO banner ad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've got an ICO banner ad on the top of *this* page. How are slashdot's ads managed?

  34. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Eight subscribers. Stan Lee video took off since Daily Beast article this past weekend.

  35. Re:Oh, darn... by Sir+Holo · · Score: 1

    They are probably acting on behalf of the US government. ...

    B I N G O !

  36. "You're wrong if you think..." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "... I'll be just like you" (I could be fake. I could be STUPID) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04fQTmvFfGo/

    * You're only IN MY WAY... & you're afraid of what I put out!

    APK

    P.S.=> That tune's JUST FOR YOU... apk

  37. Not loving google censorship & search manipula by walterbyrd · · Score: 1

    I don't care about cryptocurrencies.

    No happy about google's insane censorship, and manipulation of search results.

    JMHO.

  38. Smart money by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    is going to have to create a new search engine soon.
    No ads is the first step to big brand censorship?
    All the activist party political US brands trying to push their political view onto search results?
    Whats next? No search results?
    Deranking comments and content that mention term like crytocurrency? The math and academic papers too?
    How deep with the big brand crypto ban go?
    Time for a new search engine that actually finds results without having to guess at how a big brands political views will alter the search results.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  39. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The one with less than a hundred views?

  40. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The funny thing is the big dummy could get half a million views in a day if he made an off-the-cuff video. No script, no teleprompter, no barbaric ham-fisted editing, no autistic focus on subjects no one cares about.

    He should talk about the most interesting thing I can think of: Christopher Dale Reimer. His childhood which by all accounts sounds horrific. His adult life, which sounds barely less horrific. Why he never got a date. What happened to his teeth. Why he can't accept that he's fat.

    The possible subjects are boundless. We don't care how he made a Batman and Robin outline in Photoshop. We don't care which C-list TV star he saw at a convention.

    We want detailed information about cdreimer. The same information he's been sharing with us year after year after year, whether we wanted it or not. The consistency of his stool, his weight gain on a low-carb diet, the gym scale he maxed out for years before realizing it, the uncle that raped him, the woman that almost kissed him.

    It's endless.

  41. Eventually: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Eliminate dollars and credit cards. Use only Googs.

  42. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    creimer says he is going to post one comic con video every day in April but creimer lied to be a comic con affiliate and maybe win a t-shirt; By May, creimer will already have moved to his next get rich quick scheme!

    He always lies! He also said that he would publish books in January but he has moved to the comic con/youtube get rich quick scheme instead!

  43. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't click on his homepage link! creimer is trying to get you to subscribe automatically to his youtube channel, force you to watch his digi-feces videos and make money off you!

    CREIMER' SUBMISSIONS UPDATE:
    Note also that creimer is trying to regain karma by getting his submissions published as articles on /. so make sure to go to:
    https://slashdot.org/~crreimer
    https://slashdot.org/~cdreimer
    https://slashdot.org/~criss69
    https://slashdot.org/~Anonymou...
    https://slashdot.org/~FatCashe...
    https://slashdot.org/~ILoveFat...
    https://slashdot.org/~IHateFat...
    https://slashdot.org/~IAteFatC...
    https://slashdot.org/~ITapeFat...
    https://slashdot.org/~IApeFatC...
    https://slashdot.org/~IPrayFat...
    https://slashdot.org/~FatCashe...
    and mod down his submissions as well. The great thing is that you don't even need mod points to mod down a submission, just click on the "minus" icon!

    Yes, believe it or not, creimer owns all the above sock puppet accounts. It is a mystery why Slashdot management tolerates it!

    creimer wrote:

    I don't bother with mod points. I'm doing something much more sinister. It took ten story submissions ? I'll have to double check the number ? to move cdreimer's karma from neutral to excellent without ever being exposed to the capricious mods. Mmmmmwwwwahahahahahahaha!

    https://slashdot.org/comments....

    Danger, Will Robinson, Danger! Creimy is posting more than 2 posts a day. Hurry! mod down otherwise /. will go to hell again!

    Note: you can mod down even if already at -1 to lower karma and to prevent lost /. users to accidentally mod up.

    creimer wrote:

    All you need to do is find a website with a permissive TOS, say, Slashdot, create a Python script to scrape your own comments, sprinkle Amazon affiliate links in various posts, and then re-post past links whenever possible. Won't be long before you start making "coffee money" each month.

    https://slashdot.org/comments....

    C.D. Reimer is a renowned Slashdot collaborator, as he puts it himself; "Because of the quality of my posts and my article submissions, I'm a highly rated commentator and moderator."

    But does anybody ever wondered what "C.D." stands for? Well, it stands for Creimy Dumpty of course!

    Creimy Dumpty sat on the wall,
    Creimy Dumpty had a great fall.
    All the king's horses
    And all the king's men
    Couldn't put Creimy Dumpty
    Together again.

    Creimy's siblings video and theme song, very realistic, especially the pants, just like Creimy's:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    With "Vice President Pence Vowing US Astronauts Will Return To the Moon", we are sure they will need miracle workers up there, here is what it would look like. Note that Creimy takes care of bringing a lot of food to the moon as depicted below:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    Creimy's real pictures:
    Before the sex change:
    https://ibb.co/cc7Ddw
    After the sex change:
    https://ibb.co/gVad65

  44. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hahaha really funny +5

    I watched Casey Neistat videos for the first time in my life yesterday and it's really funny how the delusional creimer tries to copy his style in his own creimy digi-feces videos and how he always give Neistat as an example!

    Neistat even has one video where he says "to believe" and to "build your own brand" with your "own ideas"

    CROFLOL! The delusional creimer really belives in that shit! You don't have to search really far to find where it's coming from! creimer thinks for real that he will be the next Casey Neistat ;-)

    CROFLOL! CROFLOL! CROFLOL!
    --
    Balena!

  45. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Exactly,

    It seems like Chris is a victim here. He keeps on reading those SEO, youtube algorithm, basically get rich quick sites. He doesn't realize that he is the fish for them since they make money off him with their own scheme. Then, he wastes his time trying to implement what those sites suggest and he ends up disturbing people.

    I mean, those crooks tell Chris that he has to build personal brands and he goes on the Internet and makes everything about himself public!

    I believe we should bring this up at our next meeting. He might not be our only patient victim of such on-line abuse.

    --
    Silvia Bunge
    Psychology Department
    University of California, Berkeley

  46. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thanks, Chris. The list is complete, but I don't post the exhaustive list every time.

    You are a fascinating person for sure!

    "You missed one of Anonymous Cashew's sock puppet account."

    You missed a plural there, Chris. :)

  47. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There you are again spamming amazon and youtube affiliate links with yet another fake account, you revenue stream hogging disgusting fat sexist tube of lard, Christopher Dale Reimer!

    You can be sure I will be watching this fake account too. I know this is you because you told me you were working on your freepass 11 file server and you are so dumb that you can't even masquerade yourself properly.

    Now, I told you I was out of meds last week and you didn't even care to contact me you lazy fucker.

    How many times do I have to express the emergency of the situation??????

    The python click script you wrote for my pheromone revenue stream web site suddenly stopped to work!!!!!!

    You fucking incompetent python script writer!!!

    When it works, I get 4000+ clicks a day on my pheromone revenue stream web site but only 5 or 6 without it!!!!

    Now, it seems like you dont care and that you have abandoned me you heartless fucking pig!

    Bonus:
    Here is a story that creimer told me when convincing me what a hard life he had:

    The tree was him and the tree knot was his butt hole!

    So, his uncle packed his fat ass with lard and with his cock! Not that it makes much of a difference but anyway, there it is!

    Signed:
    Ethell, The girl that used to love you and now hates you, burn in hell where you belong you sexist pig!

  48. Re:Oh, darn... by iprayfatcashewd · · Score: 0

    Thanks, Chris.

    Since you believe everyone is Chris, you're very trollable.

    You missed a plural there, Chris. :)

    What will you do when he buys Slashdot for pennies next month?

  49. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Banking/Payday loans should not be allowed then. But who is to say Google/Alphabet should have any conscious at all? Where do you draw the line?

  50. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Since you believe everyone is Chris"

    The Earth's mantle couldn't handle that!

    "What will you do when he buys Slashdot for pennies next month"

    Same thing I did when you said it last month, Chris: laugh my ass off! CROFL!!!

  51. Re:Oh, darn... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    MOD THIS MEANINGLESS KARMA WHORING COMMENT DOWN!!!

    Look at the list of unfair behavior sock puppet accounts given for free in GGP! He uses his sock puppets more lately because he says slashdot barred AC posts from his IPs. We are close! Barring his IPs completely should be the next logical step!
    https://slashdot.org/comments....

    Christopher Dale Reimer, aka cdreimer, aka creimer, aka cashews, is a well-known toxic bachelor and serial digital pest!

    Do not allow this tiresome dullard to copy and paste his own Cryptofeces Reimerium back on here to collect karma points!

    We just went through the whole process of getting him contained at -1 like medical waste in a BFI container.
    Hey creimer!

    creimer confuses his Slashdot signature and homepage link with an advertisement animated gif and he changes them several times a day.

    --
    Balena!