MAM
Google removes 483.7M ads in India amid AI safety push
483.7 million ads removed, 1.7 million accounts suspended in 2025
MUMBAI: Click, block, repeat, India’s digital ad clean-up just got a serious upgrade, and the numbers are doing the talking. In its latest Ads Safety Report for India, Google revealed that it removed a staggering 483.7 million advertisements and suspended 1.7 million advertiser accounts in 2025, underscoring the growing scale of enforcement in an increasingly complex digital ecosystem.
The report paints a picture of a rapidly evolving battlefield, one where artificial intelligence is not just fuelling new threats, but also powering the defences built to stop them.
At the heart of the crackdown lies AI. As abuse tactics grow more sophisticated, platforms are leaning heavily on advanced models including Google’s Gemini to detect, flag and remove harmful content at scale.
The shift is not subtle. The ad safety landscape, as the report notes, is being “reshaped by AI advancements, new abuse tactics, and global events”, making continuous adaptation less of a strategy and more of a survival requirement.
In simpler terms, the bad actors are getting smarter but so are the gatekeepers.
Among the most common violations in India, five categories stood out in 2025:
Trademark infringement
Financial services-related violations
Copyright breaches
Personalisation policy violations
Abuse of the ad network
These categories highlight a mix of old and new challenges from intellectual property misuse to increasingly nuanced data and targeting violations.
The sheer scale of enforcement tells its own story. With nearly half a billion ads taken down in a single year, the numbers reflect both the volume of activity on digital platforms and the intensity of scrutiny required to keep them in check.
At the same time, the suspension of 1.7 million advertiser accounts suggests a stronger stance not just on content, but on the sources behind it, signalling a shift from reactive moderation to more proactive ecosystem control.
For a platform used by billions globally, including India’s massive and still-growing internet base, the stakes are high. Advertising is no longer just about visibility, it is about credibility. And in a landscape where misinformation, fraud and policy breaches can spread at algorithmic speed, maintaining trust has become as critical as driving reach.
The report makes it clear that safety is no longer a backend function, it is front and centre in how digital advertising platforms operate.
As AI continues to lower the barriers for content creation, it will inevitably do the same for misuse. That puts platforms in a constant loop of innovation building faster detection systems, refining policies and collaborating across the ecosystem. For advertisers, the message is equally sharp, compliance is no longer optional, and shortcuts are increasingly visible. Because in the new attention economy, getting seen is easy staying trusted is the real challenge.
Brands
Domino’s Q1 profit falls 6.6 per cent, announces $1 billion buyback
Sales rise 3.4 per cent as pizza giant balances growth and shareholder returns
NEW YORK: Domino’s reported a mixed start to 2026, with first-quarter net income slipping even as global sales and store expansion held steady. The company also announced a fresh $1 billion share buyback, underlining its continued focus on shareholder returns.
Global retail sales rose 3.4 per cent on a constant-currency basis to $4.74 billion. The US remained a key growth engine, with same-store sales inching up 0.9 per cent, supported by a 1.5 per cent rise at company-owned outlets.
International markets, however, painted a more uneven picture. While Domino’s added 161 net new stores overseas during the quarter, international same-store sales declined 0.4 per cent. Overall revenues still climbed 3.5 per cent to $1.15 billion, driven by higher supply chain revenues and a 2.6 per cent increase in food basket pricing for franchisees.
On the profitability front, net income fell 6.6 per cent to $139.8 million, compared to $149.7 million a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share dropped to $4.13 from $4.33. The decline was largely attributed to a $30 million unfavourable swing in unrealised gains linked to its investment in DPC Dash Ltd.
Despite this, operational performance showed resilience. Income from operations rose 9.6 per cent to $230.4 million, supported in part by a $7.8 million pre-tax gain from the sale of a corporate aircraft.
Domino’s footprint continued to expand, with the company ending the quarter at 22,322 stores across more than 90 markets. In the US, digital orders remained dominant, accounting for over 85 per cent of retail sales in 2025.
The company also maintained its dividend payout, declaring $1.99 per share, payable on 30 June 2026. After repurchasing $75.1 million worth of stock during the quarter, the new authorisation lifts the total available for buybacks to $1.29 billion.
Domino’s chief executive officer Russell Weiner said the company’s scale and store-level economics position it well to capture further market share in 2026, even as competition intensifies.
As Domino’s leans into expansion and capital returns, the latest results show a business managing short-term pressures while keeping its long-term growth strategy firmly in play.
