STATES SETTLE WITH GOOGLE, IHEARTMEDIA OVER MISLEADING ADS

The Federal Trade Commission and a handful of states announced settlements with Google and iHeartMedia related to misleading radio advertisements about a Google cellphone.

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The settlements stem from complaints alleging Google paid to have radio personalities endorse and talk about their personal experiences using the Pixel 4, one of the company’s cellphones, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta. At the time, the phone wasn’t available and many of the radio DJs had not used it, Bonta said.

The ads ran more than 23,000 times across 10 media markets, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, Bonta’s office said.

Google will pay $9 million and iHeartMedia will pay $400,000, Bonta’s office said. iHeartMedia is the largest owner of radio stations in the nation. Some smaller radio stations also ran the ads.