Google admits making money from illegal London Olympic ticket ads

Google is reportedly profiting from advertisement revenue of illegal products generated by its automated advertising system, it has emerged.

The ads, which have now been removed by the search giant, included unofficial London 2012 Olympics ticket resellers, as well as cannabis and fake ID card sellers.

According to the BBC, Google told investigators that the company keeps any money it might make from companies advertising illegal services before such adverts are removed.

As per the London Olympic and Paralympic Games Act 2006, selling tickets on the open market without permission from the Olympic authorities is a criminal offence in the UK.

The BBC investigation stemmed from a consumer who tried to buy Olympics tickets from an unauthorized reseller, LiveOlympicTickets.

The customer became suspicious after she received an email from the company informing her that they could not complete the sale until she faxed over a copy of her signature.

LiveOlympicTickets was Google's top sponsored link for 2012 tickets, and remained so for more than a week even after the Metropolitan Police had asked the search engine to remove the advertisement.

Google's AdWords is partly automated and this helps make the initial selection of the advertisements which appear at the top of its search results.

The advertising sysytem does filter key words that can help sift out adverts which might be offering unlawful services.