Google sued for false Pixel 4 ads, influencers lied about using the phone
Oliver Cragg / Android Authority
TLDR
- Google allegedly paid out influencers to say wonderful issues about the Pixel 4 sequence when, in fact, they had never ever applied the phones.
- According to the FTC, the business also paid out iHeartMedia to air these “deceptive” advertisements.
- The two Google and iHeartMedia are settling the lawsuit with the FTC and seven states. They’ll have to pay a penalty of $9.4 million.
Google and iHeartMedia are dealing with a lawsuit for “deceptive” Pixel 4 advertisements. The corporations are currently being sued by The Federal Trade Fee (FTC) and seven states for airing just about 29,000 phony ads featuring radio personalities advertising their use of the Pixel 4 telephones in 2019 and 2020.
According to a launch posted by the FTC, Google and iHeartMedia hired influencers to promote the Pixel flagships with scripted lines like, “It’s my favored cellphone camera out there, specifically in very low light-weight, many thanks to Night Sight Mode,” “I’ve been taking studio-like photos of every thing,” and “It’s also terrific at supporting me get stuff carried out, many thanks to the new voice-activated Google Assistant that can tackle numerous responsibilities at when.”
The employed influencers in no way made use of the phones before the recording and airing of the ads.
Google allegedly compensated around $2.6 million to iHeartRadio and $2 million “in connection with eleven lesser radio networks” for the misleading ads endorsing the Pixel 4. The lawsuit promises that the hired influencers never used the telephones right before the recording and airing of the advertisements.
“It is widespread sense that persons set additional stock in initially-hand activities. Customers assume radio advertisements to be truthful and transparent about solutions, not misleading with faux endorsements,” explained Massachusetts Attorney Common Maura Healey.
The proposed FTC buy and the state judgments settling the allegations bar Google and iHeartMedia from very similar deceitful commercials in the potential. They also need the businesses to cough up $9.4 million in penalties.
