Google goes on crypto university hiring spree amid ICO ad clampdown

INTERNET giant Google is visiting universities and performing lectures on cryptocurrency amid a clampdown on the unregulated sector.

The search giant has announced a moratorium on ICO advertising as it tries to get a handle on the burgeoning sector.

While the ICO ban has become problematic for the sector which has just set up a lobbying group to help shape regulation – the company is now lecturing and hiring experts on crypto shows there’s trust.

Tech geniuses from the firm visited the Politecnico di Milano earlier this month in a bid to educate students and find the best minds.

According to the University they also conducted face to face interviews with students as well as giving them lectures on Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and Monero.

Google innovates

The abstract stated: “Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. It’s an enormous goal to accomplish and Google needs great people to achieve it!

“Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, Litecoin… Many crypto-currencies have been in the news lately and most people know they can purchased as an asset or exchanged as currency.

“Less well known is how they really work.

“In this talk, I’ll review the basic differences between the most popular ones and highlight some interesting innovations in the space, including scripting, privacy and reducing electricity requirements to protect the environment.

“The talk will be followed by a description of Google jobs and internships and an overview of our interview and hiring process.”

The news has been welcomed by the sector including Investoo Group CEO David Merry who publishes news websites in English, German, Spanish and Italian.

He said: “It’s fantastic to know that Google is actually embracing the sector.

“The bad news around the advertising ban had an impact on markets so the fact that Google is once again leading the way on education is great.

Google begins mock Interviews

“What’s even better is that Google is hiring the best talent they can find as they pioneer the space.”

Recruiters for the US based tech giant conducted 15-minute Mock Interviews with students.

They also helped them to sharpen their skills and practice brainstorming algorithms and writing code on whiteboards.

Advertising ban

Last week Google announced it is to implement a ban on cryptocurrencies following a report in the Wall Street Journal.

In a blog post, the global search giant said their plan will take effect in June 2018.

The company is reviewing its financial services policy.

And it said that advertising linked to initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency wallets, and cryptocurrency trading advice will come under the moratorium.

Scott Spencer, Google’s director of sustainable advertising told CNBC that: “We don’t have a crystal ball to know where the future is going to go with cryptocurrencies, but we’ve seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it’s an area that we want to approach with extreme caution.”

Twitter follows suit

Social media giant Twitter has also announced it will folllow in the footsteps of Facebook and Google, by implementing a ban on advertisements related to cryptocurrencies.

Sky News reported the controversial San Francisco firm will implement a ban within two weeks.

They hope to be able to block ads associated with cryptocurrency wallets, exchanges and initial coin offerings, although they claim that they will have a number of exceptions.

Twitter has so far refused to confirm that the ban will go ahead but have not denied reports.

Meanwhile Rob Leathern, Product Management Director at Facebook confirmed the company is to wipe out all “deceptive advertising” as it updated its policy extending it to financial products.

He said: “Two of our core advertising principles outline our belief that ads should be safe, and that we build for people first. Misleading or deceptive ads have no place on Facebook.

“We’ve created a new policy that prohibits ads that promote financial products and services that are frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices, such as binary options, initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency.

“We want people to continue to discover and learn about new products and services through Facebook ads without fear of scams or deception. That said, there are many companies who are advertising binary options, ICOs and cryptocurrencies that are not currently operating in good faith.”

“This policy is intentionally broad while we work to better detect deceptive and misleading advertising practices, and enforcement will begin to ramp up across our platforms including Facebook, Audience Network and Instagram. We will revisit this policy and how we enforce it as our signals improve.

We also understand that we may not catch every ad that should be removed under this new policy, and encourage our community to report content that violates our Advertising Policies. People can report any ad on Facebook by clicking on the upper right-hand corner of the ad.

“This policy is part of an ongoing effort to improve the integrity and security of our ads, and to make it harder for scammers to profit from a presence on Facebook.”

Microsoft to ‘make up its mind’

Meanwhile executives at Microsoft are yet to decide whether they will ban the currencies as they continue to be the last man standing and have the potential of profiting massively from the ban culture.

A spokesperson for the company told Recode: “We continually review our policies, and ongoing monitoring of this emerging model may lead to later changes that best meet the interests of our users, partners and network,” said a Microsoft spokesperson. “In that context, we are currently evaluating our position on cryptocurrency advertising.”