FTC, state AGs announce settlement with Google and iHeartMedia over Pixel 4 ads

The Federal Trade Commission and seven state attorneys general sued Google (GOOGL0 and iHeartMedia (IHRT) for airing "nearly 29,000 deceptive endorsements by radio personalities promoting their use of and experience with Google’s Pixel 4 phone in 2019 and 2020," the FTC announced. Today’s proposed FTC orders and the state judgments settling the allegations bar Google and iHeartMedia from similar misrepresentations, and the state judgments also require them to pay $9.4M in penalties, the FTC stated. "Google and iHeartMedia paid influencers to promote products they never used, showing a blatant disrespect for truth-in-advertising rules," said Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Samuel Levine. "The FTC will not stop working with our partners in the states to crack down on deceptive ads and ensure firms that break the rules pay a price." Reference Link