States settle with Google, iHeartMedia over misleading ads

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission and a handful of states announced settlements Monday with Google and iHeartMedia over misleading radio advertisements about a cellphone. It stems from complaints that Google paid to have radio personalities endorse and talk about their personal experience using the Pixel 4, even though many of them hadn’t used the phone. California Attorney General Rob Bonta says the ads ran more than 23,000 times across 10 media markets. Google will pay $9 million. iHeartMedia, the largest owner of radio stations in the country, will pay $400,000. Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and Texas are also involved in the case.