Australian abortion providers say new Google policies will make it harder to advertise their services | Health

Australian abortion and contraception provider MSI claims that Google is forcing it to pay thousands of dollars a year to a third-party U.S. company to continue advertising its telemedicine services in Google searches.

Google's new health and medicines policy, introduced in May, requires telemedicine providers around the world to be accredited and comply with local laws. From August, Australian providers will be required to register with Portland, Oregon-based accredited provider LegitScript to continue advertising their services.

MSI said registration and annual fees will cost more than $4,700, but prices can vary. Those fees are separate from the cost of advertising the service.

The group argues that forcing healthcare providers to undergo expensive third-party certification by U.S. companies ignores Australian state and federal government regulations and inspections to which MSI is subject, and creates further obstacles to advertising online.

MSI Australia managing director Greg Johnson said access to abortion and contraception services would be threatened if MSI was unable to promote its telehealth services, particularly to people based in rural areas.

“Australia already has extensive consumer protections in place through our regulator and quality assurance programs,” he said. “Google's new policy will simply add more costly, opaque red tape and ultimately harm people who need care.”

Dr Catriona Melville, MSI's director of clinical excellence, said she was concerned the US-based company was making decisions influenced by the US political climate around reproductive rights.

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We believe Australia's health policy should be determined by Australians, not the political climate of other countries.

A Google spokesperson said the policy applies to all telemedicine ads and is not specific to abortion providers.

“This will ensure people can access these services safely, whilst complying with relevant laws and industry standards,” the spokesperson said. “Many telehealth providers in Australia and around the world have completed this certification process and are successfully advertising on our platform.

A spokesperson said LegitScript is a globally recognized certification body used by companies around the world, and Google relies on LegitScript's expertise to ensure user safety and advertiser compliance. The spokesperson said there are no exceptions to the policy, but added that Google is working with MSI to clarify its policies and requirements.

LegitScript has been contacted for comment.

MSI has previously run into issues over its abortion service language when advertising its services through Google in Australia in 2019 and 2022.

MSI Ghana also reported in March that the use of the term “pregnancy choices” violated Google's advertising policies in the country, a claim Google denied, arguing the ad was likely rejected because it targeted people based on sensitive health categories such as pregnancy.

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