Almighty Google drops all e-gold adwords ads

Well, I'm a bit shocked to hear this. According to Digital Money World Google has decided to prevent any future use of adwords ads that contain any reference to e-gold, including e-gold exchange, e-gold investment etc. Some have called this move as "fascist" and "anti free-market", others have said that e-gold had it coming and in a way deserves this because of their lack of "self regulation". I think this move is utterly preposterous. Filtering out keywords such as "HYIP" or "e-gold investment" can be somewhat justified on the grounds that it can be easily proven that the majority of such supposed e-gold investment sites are nothing more than ponzi scams, but banning completely the use of "e-gold" as a keyword is ridiculous. E-gold is a CURRENCY, much like US Dollars, and Euros. Who in their right mind would ban people from using the word "dollar" or "euro" in their advertisements. Google's decision does not seem wise to me and I think that either they have been pressured by some "outside influence" or they are embarking on some sort of moral crusade to rid the internet of ponzi scams and the like. Well, I've got news for you Google; you're not going to accomplish much because all those advertisers that used keywords such as "e-gold" will simply move to your competitors' sites.

Anyways, I am going to stop here before I go on a rant. I am interested in hearing what you people think about this, so feel free to post a response to this post.

Here is a copy of the e-mail Google sent out to its customers:

Dear AdWords Advertiser,

We are writing to inform you of a change to Google’s advertising policies that may affect your AdWords account.

In the coming weeks, we will no longer accept AdWords ads that promote e-gold.

Ads and websites are also not accepted for related content which includes, but is not limited to, e-gold exchange, e-gold investment, and e-gold accounts.

When we make this change, Google will suspend all ads identified as being in violation of this policy. If your account is affected by this policy change, please remove any e-gold content from your ad text and website. Current e-gold advertisers are encouraged to instead advertise other products or services that comply with our policies.

As a business, Google must make decisions regarding the advertising that we accept. We apologize for any inconvenience this policy change may cause you.

Sincerely,

The Google AdWords Team

** As noted in our advertising Terms and Conditions, Google may refuse any ads or terminate ad campaigns at any time, for any reason. Please note that the decisions we make concerning advertising in no way affect the search results we deliver. Google offers broad access to content across the web without censoring search results.

Solution to get your e-gold account unblocked

I just came across this very useful post on the NoBSNetwork Forum.

Over the last 1-2 days there have been a huge number of e-gold accounts being blocked. We believe they may be blocking accounts that they feel are involved in money laundering or illegal activity. They may also be blocking accounts that they feel have the wrong personal contact information associated with them. Here is a copy of an email E-gold will send you with the reason of the block:
Your account has been blocked under our Rights of Association clause in the
account user agreement.
Quoting from the e-gold Account User Agreement:
Terms of Use
— begin quote
4.6. Right of Association
Issuer reserves the right to refuse service to particular individuals or
entities, at its sole discretion, with or without cause.
— end quote
There are people who have done nothing wrong, and now have thousands of dollars in e-currency locked in their accounts. Luckily E-gold promises to resolve the issue and unblock accounts as long as you send them information to verify your contact details in your account. Here is the email you will most likely get if you contact support about an account being blocked:
In order for us to assist you with the block we will need due
diligence
documents. Please mail (or preferably, use a courier service such as
Fed Ex
or DHL) original notarized copies of all of the following information:
a) A signed and notarized affidavit listing: Name, address, and
telephone
number for the owner of e-gold account 4470514
b) Copy of a telephone or utility bill that has the same address stated
in
item A.
c) Notarized copy of Passport or Driver’s license for the account
owner.
Addressed to:
G&SR
175 East Nasa Blvd.
Suite 300
Melbourne, FL 32901
Attn: Due Diligence Unit
Please include a copy of all email correspondence on this matter with
your
due diligence documents.
Thank You,
e-gold Service

So, please make sure you have correct information in your e-gold profile, and if you don't now is the time to correct it.

That's all for now. Take care.