Silicon Valley giant Google will pay a $9 million settlement to a handful of states in connection with misleading radio ads about its cellphone in 2019 and 2020, according to state and federal officials.
The settlements stem from complaints alleging Google paid to have radio personalities endorse and talk about their personal experiences using the Pixel 4, one of the company's cellphones, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta. At the time, the phone wasn't available and many of the radio DJs had not used it, Bonta said.
The ads ran more than 23,000 times across 10 media markets, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, Bonta's office said. Google will pay $9 million and iHeartMedia will pay $400,000, Bonta's office said. iHeartMedia is the largest owner of radio stations in the nation. Some smaller radio stations also ran the ads.Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
“Google tried to take shortcuts in advertising its products, and now it’s paying the price,” Bonta said in a statement. “Asking DJs to share personal experiences about a product they had not used is misleading — and a violation of state consumer protection laws.
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