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Google stops taking political ads in Washington state following lawsuit

Google Inc. stopped accepting political ads in Washington state, just days after state Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued the company over political advertising data.

The Alphabet Inc. unit updated its political content advertising policy, saying, "starting June 7th, 2018, ads related to ballot measures and state and local elections in the state of Washington, U.S.A., will not be accepted." Google also said it will notify all affected advertisers.

The move comes on the same day the state Public Disclosure Commission passed new rules that require digital communication platforms to provide details of political ads such as "approximate description of the geographic locations and audiences targeted, and total number of impressions generated by the advertisement or communication."

In lawsuits filed in King County Superior Court, the Attorney General's Office alleged that Google and Facebook Inc. did not obtain or maintain all the information required of campaign advertisers. The state is seeking penalties and injunctive relief.

Washington state campaign finance laws require commercial advertisers that sell political advertising to maintain information about those who purchase advertising. The advertisers are also required to make that information available to the public.