Google said Monday it has removed misleading and fraudulent ads targeting Americans looking for information about how to vote in November�s presidential election.

Some of the ads charged fees for registering people to vote, while others sucked up people�s personal information for marketing purposes. The ads were discovered by the nonprofit tech watchdog Tech Transparency Project.

The group found that search terms such as �register to vote,� �vote by mail� and �where is my polling place� generated ads linking to websites that charge fees for voter registration, harvest user data, or plant unwanted software on people�s browsers. Google says such ads are prohibited on its platform.

�We are committed to protecting users from abuse on our platforms, especially when it comes to information about elections,� said Google spokeswoman Charlotte Smith.

(AP)