Google and iHeartRadio have agreed to pay a fine of A$13.46 million for allegedly paying radio hosts to rhapsodise about the Pixel 4 phone, despite having never used one.
Google allegedly paid more than A$3.9 million to iHeartRadio, and a further A$3 million “in connection with eleven smaller radio networks” for the deceptive endorsements.
According to the Federal Trade Commission and seven state attorneys general, Google provided scripts for iHeartRadio disc jockeys to read on air, such as:
The only thing I love more than taking the perfect photo? Taking the perfect photo at night.
With Google Pixel 4 both are a cinch.
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 . . . my son’s football game . . . a meteor shower . . . a rare spotted owl that landed in my backyard. Pics or it didn’t happen, am I right?
Pixel 4 is more than just great pics. 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.
I can read up on the latest health fads, ask for directions to the nearest goat yoga class (yes, that’s a thing), and text the location to mom hands-free.
While these may seem like straight advertising reads, now comment in the podcasting world, they were not clearly defined as such, and the majority of hosts weren’t given Pixel 4 phones prior to doing the reads, in October 2019.
Nearly 29,000 of the cash for comment pieces aired in 2019 and 2020, the FTC says.
As part of the settlement, neither company can misrepresent user experience in advertising (which was already a stipulation of advertising laws).
“We are pleased to resolve this issue,” Google spokesperson José Castañeda said.
“We take compliance with advertising laws seriously and have processes in place designed to help ensure we follow relevant regulations and industry standards.”
