Fast Chat: Google ‘Ad Cop’ David Baker

David Baker would be the first to admit he has a weird job. As Google’s director of engineering, one of his duties is to police the ads run on Google’s sites and its third-party network of publishers. That involves shutting down ads, which could seem counterintuitive for a company that banks more than 90 percent of its revenue from advertising. But as far as Baker sees it, removing ads that drive users to scam sites (among other types of bad ads) “allows us to make an honest buck.” Adweek spoke with Google’s ad cop about what it takes to patrol online advertising’s underbelly.