Google accused of placing ads on sanctioned web pages

Piracy, porn and sanctioned websites — Google’s search business is putting big brand names on questionable sites, a new study has revealed.

Google search ads of Fortune 500 companies and US government institutions have landed on websites with compromising content, including hardcore pornography and piracy sites, via a lesser-known part of Google’s search ads business.

A 269-page study by the ad analytics firm Adalytics has exposed instances of alcoholic beverages advertised on children’s websites, NSA recruitment postings on an Iranian government website, and donation solicitations for the US Republican Party on a Russian porn site.