Why Have Google and EBay Refused to Ban Ads Offering to Remove Car Pollution Filters?

Several huge internet companies have caused a sizable furore among environmental groups by refusing to ban controversial adverts from garages across the UK which offer to remove car pollution filters.

The law requires that all cars on the road must have a diesel particulate filter (DPF) installed before it can be driven. However, although driving without a DPF is illegal, the process of removing it from a car is not. Unscrupulous mechanics have exploited this loophole by offering the service, with some even boasting that they can beat visual checks by the MOT.

Campaigners have turned to the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) to ban the advertisement of such services since they promote immoral behaviour. However, since no laws are actually being broken by displaying the ads, Google, Gumtree and eBay have held firm.

Why the Service Exists

Though DPFs are required by law, they can become clogged and dysfunctional, rendering the car in which they are installed illegal. In order to comply with the law, owners must take the car to a garage and have the apparatus removed, cleaned and reinstalled, which can be quite a costly service.

In order to cut corners and save cash, some car owners prefer that the DPF is removed altogether without being replaced. Garages have been exploiting this gap in the market by offering the removal at a reduced price, without cleaning or reinstalling it. Such negligent behaviour does nothing to improve air quality and reduce transport-related pollution at a time when the nation needs it most.

What the Companies Say

Google and Gumtree have defended their decision not to ban the ads on their websites, claiming that the companies are not in violation of any law.

“Our policy for posting adverts on Gumtree is based on compliance with English law. As there are sometimes legitimate reasons for the removal of diesel particulate filters, and the removal of the DPF is not an offence, then these services can be offered by advertisers via Gumtree. If the practice of removing DPFs was outlawed, then we would immediately ban and remove these listings from the site,” said Hannah Wilson, a representative of Gumtree.

Meanwhile, Google were equally stubborn in their refusal to take down the ads. “Our policies require advertisers to comply with all applicable laws and local regulations. If we discover sites or services that are in violation of this policy we take appropriate action,” said a spokeswoman. EBay were unavailable for comment.

What the Critics Say

Environmentalists have reacted angrily to the statements, calling on not only the ASA to outlaw such types of advertising but also the government to make the practice itself illegal, as well.

“Air pollution is a public health crisis of breath-taking proportions. We’re asking the ASA to clamp down on those advertising these dubious practices and help prevent more deadly pollution hitting our children’s lungs,” said Oliver Hayes of Friends of the Earth (FoE).  “But we’re also calling on the government to make it illegal to remove these pollution filters in the first place. Unless they do, the absurd loophole remains.”

Politicians have also waded into the argument, with Mary McCreagh MP remarking: “The removal of DPF filters by rogue garages is another diesel test dodge which cheats the public out of clean air. The Department of Transport did the right thing in introducing visual checks into MOTs. But it should now look at tightening up MOTs and outlawing the removal of pollution filters altogether.”