Settlement with iHeartMedia for Broadcasting Deceptive Advertisements
Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General
AUSTIN – Attorney General Paxton announced a settlement with iHeartMedia, Inc. over the company’s recording and broadcasting of radio advertisements that promoted the Google Pixel 4 smartphone.
iHeartMedia disc jockeys recorded detailed testimonials about their personal and positive experiences with the Pixel 4, although they had never actually used the smartphones despite requesting them from Google. These testimonials were then broadcast as product advertisements in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston markets.
“This settlement is an example of my commitment to ensuring that blatant mistruths presented as facts by corporate entities will not go unchecked,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Any corporation that pushes falsehoods is on notice that my team and I will go after them. I refuse to stand idly by while companies lie to Texans for financial gain.”
In addition to the payment to Texas for civil penalties and attorneys’ fees in excess of $65,000, iHeartMedia agreed to fully cooperate with the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in all other investigations and cases related to the marketing of the Google Pixel 4.
Attorney General Paxton worked on this settlement with the Attorneys General of California, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Georgia, and Arizona.
