Google Settles Lawsuit FTC and Seven US States, Forced to Pay Fines of IDR 147 Billion

Google is accused of committing fraud while promoting the Pixel 4 cellphone. (photo: dock. Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission. (FTC) and seven U.S. states. reached a settlement with Alphabet Inc's Google and iHeartMedia Inc over allegations of ad fraud promoting the Google Pixel 4 smartphone.

The FTC said in a statement on Monday November 28 that Google deployed nearly 29,000 endorsements scams by radio personalities promoting their use and experience with Google Pixel 4 phones in 2019 and 2020.

According to the allegations by the FTC and seven states, the ads ran in English and Spanish and violated consumer protection laws. The seven states that joined the FTC are New York, Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts and Texas.

According to the FTC, the charges were settled by Google, which agreed to pay a $9.4 million fine.

"Google and iHeartMedia are paying influencers to promote products they never use, which shows blatant disrespect for the true rules of advertising," said FTC official Samuel Levine.

According to the FTC, in 2019, Google hired iHeartMedia and 11 other radio networks in 10 major markets to have private broadcast recording and broadcast support for Pixel 4 phones. Google said it was happy to resolve the case.

"We take advertising laws seriously and have processes designed to help ensure we follow relevant industry regulations and standards," a Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement, to Reuters.

Meanwhile, last Monday's fine was relatively small, as Google and big tech companies have faced scrutiny from regulators recently. Google is also fighting claims in court over its search and advertising practices.

Earlier this month, the company agreed to pay nearly $400 million to settle allegations by 40 US states that the search and advertising company was illegally tracking users' locations.

The US Department of Justice sued Google in 2020, accusing it of antitrust violations in its search business. But that claim has been refuted by Google.