Google's ban on payday loan ads recasts debate of morality in media for digital age

The likes of Facebook and Microsoft have spurned fireworks, paintball guns and erectile dysfunction ads, much as publishing outlets have done for decades

Google was widely applauded this week for announcing it would stop selling ads for long-reviled payday loan companies. Facebook, it turns out, banned payday loan ads last year, along with those for weapons and "unsafe supplements".

Related: 'Dangerous' payday loans join guns and drugs on Google's banned ad list