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Google Reaches $8 Million Settlement With Texas for Deceptive Ads

AG Ken Paxton said, “If Google is going to advertise in Texas, their statements better be true.

Google has agreed to pay $8 million to Texas for “deceptive advertisements” promoting the Google Pixel 4 smartphone, the state’s Attorney General Ken Paxton announced in a press release on Friday. Paxton pounced on Google in January 2022 with a lawsuit alleging the tech giant engaged in “false and misleading practices” that violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices–Consumer Protection Act. The company hired iHeartMedia to broadcast testimonials from radio DJs about their experiences with the Pixel 4 to audiences in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Greater Houston areas—however, it refused to hand over the phone to the DJs. Not only had the DJs never used the Pixel 4, but Google had yet to release the device and remained steadfast in its decision to not share samples of the phones. In his press release, Paxton revealed Google continued advertising its “first-hand testimonials” when confronted for violating the law, “prioritizing profits over truthfulness.” He wrote: “If Google is going to advertise in Texas, their statements better be true. In this case, the company made statements that were blatantly false, and our settlement holds Google accountable for lying to Texans for financial gain.”