Google paid influencers to promote Pixel smartphones they never used — Lawsuit

3 years ago 1

ARTICLE AD BOX

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and four states in the US sued Google and iHeartMedia for false advertising of the Google Pixel 4 smartphones.

The lawsuit alleged that nearly 29,000 deceptive endorsements of the Pixel 4 were aired on iHeartMedia’s radio stations in 2019 and 2020.

iHeartMedia is the US’s biggest radio station owner, with over 850 AM and FM stations and online radio networks that reach over 245 million listeners every month.

The FTC explained that Google had hired iHeartMedia and 11 other radio networks in 10 major markets to have on-air personalities record and broadcast endorsements of the Pixel 4 phone.

Google provided iHeartMedia with scripts that included lines about the Pixel 4 that implied the reader had personal experience with the smartphone.

Among the phrases they would say included:

“It’s my favourite phone camera out there, especially in low light, thanks to Night Sight Mode.”
“I’ve been taking studio-like photos of everything.”
“It’s also great at helping me get stuff done, thanks to the new voice-activated Google Assistant that can handle multiple tasks at once.”

However, Google had not provided the on-air personalities with the smartphone before recording and airing most of the ads.

Bureau of Consumer Protection director Samuel Levine said that having well-known personalities promote a product they had never used showed blatant disrespect for the country’s “truth-in-advertising” rules.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said that consumers put more stock in first-hand experiences.

“Consumers expect radio advertisements to be truthful and transparent about products, not misleading with fake endorsements,” said Healey.

Google and iHeartMedia have settled with the FTC and the states, barring them from making similar representations.

They were also fined, receiving penalties of $9.4 million (R159.39 million).

The fine should not make any noticeable dent in Google’s finances. The Internet giant made a profit of $13.9 billion in the third quarter of 2022.