Google Settles With FTC Over Paying Personalities to Promote Phone They Never Used

As the semi - proud owner of a cracked , unsporting , corrupting Google Pixel 3 telephone set , I would never make claims that its night photographic camera is very just for taking pictures of something as fast moving as a meteoroid shower bath , allow alone my late Nox , near sorry selfie sessions ( do n’t adjudicate ) .

Well , Google had allegedly pay some tuner personality to make similar claim about the Pixel 4 without even testing the telephone at all . On Monday , the U.S. Federal Trade Commission say Google and the once - major instrumentalist in digital wireless iHeartMedia had broadcast thousands of deceptive advertizement for the Pixel 4 phone . From 2019 to 2020 the pair run away close to 29,000 indorsement , but in all that fourth dimension , many of the tuner personality who were asked to supercharge the smartphone ’s lineament never even got their hands on a Pixel 4 , but were told to promote it anyway as if they had .

Now Google and iHeartMedia haveagreed to pay a settlementto the FTC and seven other State Department for $ 9.4 million for go the phoney endorsements . The order also sign Google and iHeartRadio to a consent agreement prohibiting the companionship from getting people in endorsements to claim they ’ve used a mathematical product when they have n’t . After a 30 - day public comment period , the FTC commissioners will vote whether to make the order final .

As part of Google’s promotion for the Pixel 4, the company paid for thousands of radio ads airing across the country. Radio personalities were paid to talk about how much they liked using the phone even if they had never even touched it.

According to the ailment , those radio personalities received a introductory script that included line like :

It ’s my favored telephone camera out there , especially in miserable sparkle , thanks to Night Sight Mode .

I ’ve been taking studio apartment - like photograph of everything … my son ’s football game … a meteor rain shower … a rarefied spotted bird of Minerva that bring in my backyard . Pics or it did n’t happen , am I right ?

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Pixel 4 is more than just capital moving picture . It ’s also heavy at helping me get stuff done , thanks to the newfangled part activate Google Assistant that can treat multiple tasks at once .

Though the personality could customize the script , they still never meet a phone to make claim that they were using the camera to take pictures of these rare meteor shower or any issue where their child gets mauled in a football game plot . accord to the FTC , one iHeartRadio employee even quetch to Google that their personalities could n’t apply first - person tenses in advertising if they never even defend the phone in - hand .

Still , in late 2019 and early 2020 dozens of personalities in mart all across the nation recorded ads “ identical or substantially similar ” to the original script , first - person tense included , and the advertizing were share thou of times on - air . According to the complaint , after Google want even more ads , an iHeartRadio employee again plain . A Google representative allegedly responded the fellowship could n’t provide telephone “ at this time ” and alternatively tie in the radio employee to an info page .

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In the release , Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Samuel Levine anticipate it a “ strident disrespect for truth - in - advertising rules . ”

Google spokesperson José Castañeda told Gizmodo the fellowship was “ pleased to resolve this issue . ” He tot that Google assume “ compliance with advertising laws seriously and ha[s ] processes in situation designed to help ensure we follow relevant regulations and manufacture standards . ”

Google has been at the head of several other major colonisation with states , including a$392 million agreementwith 40 country attorneys oecumenical ’s for not release off location data collecting despite user context argue their information was n’t being pick up .

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