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An Unacceptable Business Practices public figure impersonation suspension means Google decided your ads, website or account used a famous or well-known person to suggest they endorse, use or are connected to your business, with no real, documented connection behind it. Google treats this as egregious, so the account is suspended on detection, without warning. Getting it back means proving a genuine, documented relationship with that person; if there isn’t one, the only honest route is to admit it and remove them.
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Google Ads public figure impersonation is one of three named sections of the Google Ads Unacceptable business practices policy, alongside the core rules and phishing.
Policy positions in this article were checked against Google’s published documentation as of September 2026. Google changes its policy pages without notice, so check the linked pages before relying on any detail.
Google’s policy page has a section headed Unacceptable business practices: Public figure impersonation. It covers scamming people out of money or personal information by pretending to be a public figure, or by implying a connection with one that doesn’t exist. Google also publishes a help article for accounts suspended under this section.
The consequences are the same as for the rest of the policy. Google says these violations are taken very seriously and are considered egregious. Accounts are suspended upon detection and without prior warning, and the policy says the advertiser will not be allowed to advertise with Google Ads again. The only way back Google describes is an appeal, and accounts are reinstated only in compelling circumstances, such as in the case of a mistake.
More people than most advertisers expect. Google defines public figures as people who are famous or well known, and lists government officials, entertainers, athletes and online influencers. It also includes prominent business people like founders or CEOs of big companies.
So an influencer who is well known in your niche is covered just as a pop star is.
Google illustrates the section with three examples:
The last one is Google’s own example, and the principle behind it is simple. A likeness made by software is still that person’s likeness. Using anyone’s likeness to advertise without their permission, whether it is a real photo, a video clip, their voice or something generated, breaks Google’s policy, and it can infringe the person’s rights as well.
Google’s reason for banning it is short: impersonation or false endorsements can be used to trick people.
In the public figure cases I’ve worked on, the trigger has been the person’s name.
“I handled a case involving a particular influencer. The account was advertising a product, and it kept getting suspended under Unacceptable Business Practices. The trigger was the influencer’s name: that person is recognised on Google, and their name was associated with the product. By Google’s standards, using an influencer’s name without their direct consent can lead to suspension.”
— Gianluca Catinella, Director, Ad Restore Ltd
In my experience it comes down to using that person’s name or business, for example:
Google says its review looks beyond the ad itself, to your website, your accounts and third-party sources. For this section that matters, because a person’s name or face can sit anywhere: a testimonial on the site, a product name, a video.
In the Google Ads Community, advertisers have described being told the problem was a public figure on their website rather than in their ads, and volunteer Product Experts often ask for the advertiser’s YouTube channel too. One advertiser reported a flag linked to a business name shared with a well-known person. These are community reports, not Google policy, and I haven’t seen a business flagged that genuinely used no famous people. They are still a reason to check everything connected to the account.
Public figure impersonation came into this policy through a change Google announced in a change-log entry posted on 15 February 2024. From March 2024, Unacceptable Business Practices was extended to cover enticing users to part with money or information by impersonating a public figure, brand or organisation, or by falsely implying affiliation with or endorsement by one. For advertisers in France, enforcement began in April 2024.
Google has since published the scale. In its 2024 Ads Safety Report, Google said it had permanently suspended more than 700,000 advertiser accounts over public figure impersonation scams, followed by a 90% drop in reports of this kind of scam ad. Those are Google’s figures. They say nothing about how any single appeal will be decided.
Google’s best practices for this section are short. Have documented permission: consent you can prove, before you use a public figure’s name, image, video or voice to suggest they endorse you. And make accurate claims about what you offer.
For affiliates promoting a well-known person’s course or product, “documented” means exactly that.
“You need a written document allowing you to use that person’s image, with signatures, permitting the use of their image and likeness to promote the product. Without it, the account won’t get unsuspended.”
— Gianluca Catinella, Director, Ad Restore Ltd
My advice before using any famous person’s name, photo or video, in ads or on a website: if you don’t have the correct documentation or authority, there’s no point. It is very hard to argue that a business is operating ethically while it uses someone else’s face to promote itself.
Google’s appeal tips for this section come down to three steps:
The appeal goes through the Contact Us link in the notification at the top of the suspended account. Our guide to what the Google Ads suspension appeal form asks walks through it, and our page on the documents Google wants for a suspension appeal covers evidence more widely.
Two more things to know before you file. Some advertisers must complete advertiser verification successfully before they can appeal, and Google says those it can’t verify after 3 attempts can’t appeal; our guide to Google Ads advertiser verification explains it. And send one appeal at a time: Google says that if you file too many appeals for the same account suspension, they may not be processed.
I’ve never turned down a public figure case where there’s a correct way forward. The only one I’d turn down is where the business genuinely has no connection with the person. In that situation the appeal would have to say the business was wrong to use them, and the business would need to be happy to remove the public figure from its ads.
Put plainly: with no genuine connection to the person, the only honest route is to admit it and remove them. Even that doesn’t promise the account back, because Google reinstates only in compelling circumstances. Our page on when a Google Ads suspension can’t be fixed is straight about where that can leave you.
Google’s definition is wider than celebrities: influencers, government officials, and founders or CEOs of big companies all count, and Google reviews more than the ads. Look for any well-known person’s name, image or video anywhere connected to the account, including testimonials, product names, keywords and video channels.
It can. Google’s review takes in the website as well as the ad, so treat the site, and any video channel linked to the account, as part of what Google is judging.
Yes. Google’s best practice covers a public figure’s name, image, video or voice, and one of its own examples is AI-generated video of popular YouTubers. Without the person’s permission, using their likeness breaks the policy however it was made.
Yes, if the influencer has genuinely agreed and you can prove it. Google asks for documented permission, and in my experience that means a signed written document allowing you to use their image and likeness to promote the product. Keep what the ad says about them accurate, too.
Google’s examples are contracts or written agreements, a credible news article about the connection, and a public statement from the public figure confirming the partnership.
They can. A well-known person’s name in a product title or description can imply a connection that doesn’t exist. Brand names fall under a different part of the same policy, which bans ads that impersonate other brands or businesses to get users to give you money or personal information.
If you are the person being impersonated, Google provides a way to report unauthorized use of your likeness through its ad-reporting route.
We work on Google Ads suspensions for UK businesses, including Unacceptable Business Practices cases like this one. Our Google Ads suspension services page sets out what that work involves.
If your account has been suspended for public figure impersonation, book a consultation. Bring the suspension notice, your website address and whatever you hold that documents your relationship with the person involved. If there’s a correct way forward, we’ll tell you what it is. If there isn’t, we’ll tell you that too.
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