Google, Texas Settle for $8M in Deceptive Ads Case

Google will pay $8 million to settle a Texas lawsuit alleging deceptive advertising about the Pixel 4 smartphone, said Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) Friday. In a January complaint at Texas District Court in Montgomery County, Paxton claimed Google violated a Texas consumer protection law when it allegedly forced iHeartMedia DJs to record and broadcast firsthand testimonials for the then-unreleased Pixel 4, despite the DJs never having used the smartphone (see 2201190079). “If Google is going to advertise in Texas, their statements better be true,” Paxton said Friday. “Our settlement holds Google accountable for lying to Texans for financial gain.” The FTC and six other states previously settled for $9.4 million in a similar case (see 2211280062). Google didn’t comment.