WASHINGTON—Google and
iHeartMedia Inc.
IHRT -3.62%
agreed Monday to pay $9.4 million to settle allegations by state and federal authorities that the companies used deceptive endorsements by radio personalities to promote Google’s Pixel 4 phones.
The settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and seven state attorneys general also bars radio broadcaster iHeartMedia and Google, a unit of
Alphabet Inc.,
GOOG -1.38%
from making similar misrepresentations.
The states involved were Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and Texas.
“Google and iHeartMedia paid influencers to promote products they never used, showing a blatant disrespect for truth-in-advertising rules,” said FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director
Samuel Levine.
The FTC said that in 2019 Google hired iHeartMedia and several other radio networks in 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 phone including, “It’s my favorite phone camera out there, especially in low light, thanks to Night Sight Mode.” Another said: “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,” according to the FTC.
However, the agency said the on-air personalities typically didn’t own or regularly use the phones.
Jose Castañeda, a Google spokesman, said the company takes “compliance with advertising laws seriously” and has processes in place designed to help ensure it abides by regulations.
iHeartMedia, the nation’s largest radio station owner, declined to comment.
Write to John D. McKinnon at [email protected]
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