by Gonzalo E. Mon and Paul Singer

In January, we reported that the Texas Attorney General had filed a
lawsuit against Google alleging that the company engaged iHeartMedia
DJs to provide endorsements for its Pixel 4 phone, even though they
had never used it. This week, the FTC and several state attorneys
general announced settlements with Google and iHeartMedia over the
same conduct. The complaints provide more insights into what may have
happened behind the scenes.

According to the FTC and states, Google hired iHeartMedia and other
radio networks in 2019 to have DJs read ads for the Pixel 4
phone. Google provided scripts that included endorsements written in
the first-person. For example: "It's my favorite phone camera out
there, especially in low light, thanks to Night Sight Mode;" "I've
been taking studio-like photos of everything;" and "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."

https://www.mondaq.com/article/news/1256592?q=1803232&n=628&tp=14&tlk=8&lk=56

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