Google Stops Taking Ads From Unlicensed Pharmacies

Online search engine Google Inc. has stopped accepting advertisements from unlicensed pharmacies, joining other popular Web sites that have bowed to pressure to curb the illegal distribution of prescription drugs such as Vicodin.

Google’s decision follows a similar move last month by Overture Services, a Yahoo Inc. subsidiary that distributes ads to the Web sites operated by its parent company, and Microsoft Corp.’s MSN. Time Warner Inc.’s America Online began restricting ad sales to unlicensed pharmacies two years ago.

Google’s ad ban doesn’t affect the noncommercial results that its search engine displays after scientific algorithms sift through 3.3 billion Web pages stored in its database.

“Google supports end user choice in commerce, and we will work hard to ensure there is always consumer choice and value in online pharmacies,” the Mountain View, Calif.-based company said Monday.

The move against unlicensed pharmacies comes as regulators and Congress intensify their focus on third parties -- Web sites, credit companies and shipping companies -- that make it easier for illicit operators to sell potentially dangerous drugs.

A major trade group for legitimate pharmacies and Drugstore.com, a major online advertiser, also have been pushing for an Internet marketing ban on illegal operators.

Both Overture and Google allow advertisers to display their Web links whenever computer users search for certain words, such as Vicodin.

Google said it planned to establish a screening system to verify that a pharmacy was properly licensed before selling an ad. Overture isn’t accepting ads from any pharmacies until it has established a way to verify licenses, which it expects to do before April of next year.