Google has reportedly been reprimanded by the Australian Electoral Commission over its level of assistance during an investigation into a potential breach of electoral laws during the 2019 national election.
According to emails obtained by the ABC under freedom of information, the commission approached Google about a complaint over electoral ads which were potentially unauthorised.
The ABC says Google directed the query to its office in the US, unlike Facebook and Twitter which responded promptly.
"In making any data request to Google, please note the following: All requests should be addressed to Google LLC. These requests will go to a dedicated legal investigations team that handles these requests," Google told the commission.
The commission: "If Google provided a similar level of transparency for political advertising in Australia as for the Transparency Report for political advertising in the United States and India, my request for this information would not be necessary."
Many Australians complained to the ABC's election tracking project, the "hidden campaign", about political ads delivered via Google's networks in mobile games as well as YouTube videos.
A Google spokesperson: “We worked closely with the Australian Electoral Commission to connect people with useful and relevant information and help Australians find the information they needed to enrol and vote.”
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