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Google Ads to get a standalone Child Safety policy
Starting January 11, 2027, Google Ads will enforce a Child Safety policy with two labels. Egregious violations still mean suspension without warning. A second label, for content like non-sexual depictions of child nudity, comes with at least 7 days' warning before any suspension.
Jerry Quin2 min read2 sources
Illustration: The Keywordless.
The short answer
What changed
Google's ads policy on Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE) sits today under the Inappropriate content policy. In a change log post dated Oct 22, Google says it will be renamed "Child Safety" and "restructured as a standalone policy," with related violations split "across two expansive policy labels." Enforcement starts January 11, 2027.
Who has it
Google Ads advertisers everywhere: the update calls these "global Child Safety protections." The second label, Other Child Safety Violations, is the one that comes with a warning before any suspension. Its scope and example are below.
What I'd do this week
Advice, not from Google: if your ads or landing pages show babies or children, review that imagery before January 11. Details below.
The two labels
Egregious Child Safety Violations. Google does "not allow any content that promotes or facilitates child sexual abuse or exploitation (CSAE)." The examples include child sexual abuse material, grooming, sextortion and trafficking of a child. These stay egregious: accounts are suspended "upon detection and without prior warning," and the advertiser is "not allowed to advertise with Google Ads again." Google may review "your ad, website, accounts, and third-party sources" when deciding.
Other Child Safety Violations. This label is for content that is "maybe not inherently illegal or harmful" but "has a heightened vulnerability to being misused or repurposed for sexually exploitative purposes." Its only listed example is "Non-sexual depictions of child nudity," and the list is marked non-exhaustive. Violations "won't lead to immediate account suspension without prior warning." Instead, "A warning will be issued at least 7 days prior to any suspension of your account."
The update page doesn't say how non-sexual child nudity is treated under today's policy.
What stays the same
The policy still covers anyone under 18 and every format: audio, text, and visual media such as imagery and videos, "whether real, fictional, simulated, cartoon, AI-generated, or photoshopped." The current Inappropriate content page already treats CSAE violations as egregious.
Google's instruction is to review the update and, if any ads fall in scope, "remove those ads before this date."
What I'd do this week
This is my advice, not Google's.
If you advertise baby products, kids' clothing, swimwear, family photography or anything else where children show up in creative, pull every image and video in those accounts and look at it with this policy in mind. That includes assets on the landing pages, not only the ad.
Include AI-generated images and videos in that review.
Don't plan on the warning as your cue. At least 7 days is a short window to swap creative across a large account, so make any changes before the date.
If you manage client accounts, flag this to anyone in those categories and note the January 11 date in your calendar.
Sources
Update to the "Inappropriate Content: Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation" (CSAE) policy (January 2027)support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/18797274Google Advertising Policies Help. Posted Oct 22, 2026. Checked Oct 26, 2026.Inappropriate contentsupport.google.com/adspolicy/answer/6015406Google Advertising Policies Help. Checked Oct 26, 2026.Jerry Quin
Jerry Quin is the pen name of a paid media practitioner who has managed Google Ads accounts at an agency for 10 years. He writes about Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, ChatGPT Ads, and the rest of paid media and digital marketing, from what's rolling out to what he'd actually do about it.