Source: TechDirt.com
The FTC and four state attorneys general this week struck a $9.4 million settlement with Google over allegations that Google covertly paid celebrities money to promote a phone none of them had ever used.
The FTC’s announcement states that the agency had previously filed suit against Google and iHeartMedia for airing nearly 29,000 deceptive endorsements by radio personalities and influencers, promoting their use of and experience with Google’s Pixel 4 phone in 2019 and 2020. The FTC and state AGs said the DJs and influencers had never actually so much as touched the phones, violating truth in advertising rules…