Google lifting political ad freeze Thursday

Google is lifting its post-election ban on political advertising Thursday, the company announced in an email to advertisers. 

The five-week freeze had been instituted to minimize the spread of political misinformation in the aftermath of the election, and is being lifted less than a month ahead of two crucial Senate races in Georgia.

“While we no longer consider this post-election period to be a sensitive event, we will continue to rigorously enforce our ads policies, which strictly prohibit demonstrably false information that could significantly undermine trust in elections or the democratic process,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill.

Google had initially told advertisers that its ban would likely last a week, but always cautioned it could extend further.

Facebook also placed a ban on political advertising after the election, and has yet to lift it. It notified advertisers early last month that the pause should last “another month.”

Both companies have been under pressure to lift their bans earlier given that the balance of the Senate rests on the two runoffs in Georgia Jan. 5. 

Democrats have said that the ad bans were already costing the Democrats, the Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, in their races against incumbent GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, respectively.