The Federal Trade Commission and a handful of states announced settlements Monday with Google and iHeartMedia related to misleading radio advertisements about a Google cellphone.
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.
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. "These Radio Personalities did not own or regularly use a Pixel 4 and had not used a Pixel 4 to take pictures at night, as indicated in scripts," according to the complaint.
Of the settlement money, California will receive nearly $3 million. The money will be split between the state and Alameda County, where the case was filed, and be used to enforce consumer protection laws, a spokeswoman for Bonta said.
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