The company told the House ethics committee that it will use an automated system and a team of reviewers to detect political ads on its platform during the upcoming federal election, but some may still slip through. Google will report any advertiser who successfully buys an election ad despite its ban to Elections Canada so the agency can “take enforcement action,” said Colin McKay, Google Canada’s head of public policy and government relations. In March, Google announced it would not accept such ads because of a new requirement to set up a registry containing information about them. (CBC, National Post)

Talking point: Elections Canada hasn’t said if Google’s proposed reporting solution will satisfy it, and could pursue enforcement actions against the company if any errant ads slip through. The agency expects companies to monitor their platforms to ensure they comply with election laws, and could impose fines or seek a prosecution if they serve political ads without logging them in a registry. And, both sides could be in for a repeat of this problem in four years. While Google cited the late introduction of the registry requirement as the reason for its decision not to set one up, its representatives at the ethics committee declined to commit to setting one up for the next scheduled election, in 2023.