Google paid influencers to promote a Pixel phone they never used

Google and iHeartMedia — the largest radio station operator in the US — are facing a false advertising lawsuit over ads they ran about the Pixel 4 (which we found were inflated and full of broken experiments). The FTC and four states say companies broadcast “nearly 29,000 deceptive endorsements from radio hosts”during 2019 and 2020, with Bureau of Consumer Advocacy director Samuel Levin stating that “Google and iHeartMedia paid influencers to promote products they never used, showing blatant disrespect. advertising truthfulness rules. The two companies have settled the lawsuit and will have to pay a $9.4 million fine.

It seems that everything would be fine if these ads were not in the first person. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy explains, “It’s common sense that people value personal experience more. Consumers expect radio advertising to be truthful and transparent about products, and not be misleading by fake advertisements. Today’s agreement holds Google and iHeart responsible for this misleading advertising campaign and enforces state and federal law.”

A Google spokesperson told TechCrunch: “We are happy to address this issue. We take compliance with advertising laws seriously and we have processes in place to ensure we comply with relevant regulations and industry standards.”

As part of the settlement agreement between Google and iHeartMedia, it is prohibited “to misrepresent that an endorser owns or has used certain products, or about their experience with certain products.”The agreement is subject to public comment for 30 days, after which the panel will vote on whether to make the proposed consent rulings final.