Texas AG Ken Paxton Sues Google for Pushing Mis­lead­ing Endorsements by Houston Radio DJs

Google caught red-handed in deceptive marketing practices

Share 


Caller Content category interest

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Google LLC, for engaging in false and misleading practices in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices—Consumer Protection Act. In the lawsuit, Texas seeks a temporary and permanent injunction ordering Google to cease its misleading practices, and civil monetary penalties for past misconduct.  

The basis for the lawsuit is Google’s employment of iHeartMedia to record and broadcast advertisements in the Dallas-Fort Worth and the Greater Houston markets to promote a Google brand smartphone, the “Pixel 4.” Google provided the script for the ads which included personal endorsements for radio disk jockeys (DJs) to read, describing their personal use and enjoyment of the smartphone. At the time, however, the Pixel 4 had not yet been released, none of the DJs had actually used it, and Google refused to provide samples to iHeartMedia.  iHeartMedia realized the script Google provided would be misleading to consumers and explained these concerns, but Google refused to acquiesce and insisted on the DJs recording “first-hand testimonials” for a product they had never used. 
 

November 15, 2024
Michael MK

Michael MK
Senior Editor & Writer

Share 

More from Caller Content

METRO Lifts Mask Requirement
Caller Content

METRO Lifts Mask Requirement

Masks will be optional throughout the METRO system

Mayor Turner announces approval of largest urban solar farm in the country
Caller Content

Mayor Turner announces approval of largest urban solar farm in the country

It will be the largest urban solar farm in the nation built on a landfill
 

Texas Cou­ple Con­vict­ed of $1 Mil­lion Medicare Fraud Scheme
Caller Content

Texas Cou­ple Con­vict­ed of $1 Mil­lion Medicare Fraud Scheme

The husband and wife owned and operated group homes in which Medicare beneficiaries lived
 

$2M worth of meth found in mobile home near Scenic River Drive in east Harris County
Caller Content

$2M worth of meth found in mobile home near Scenic River Drive in east Harris County

Police discover $2 million worth of crystal meth inside of a home in Harris County

Houston Zoo Prepares as Avian Influenza Detected in North Texas
Caller Content

Houston Zoo Prepares as Avian Influenza Detected in North Texas

Avian influenza can cause severe illness and death in many bird species
 

Reliant and Houston Astros team up to power baseball fans across Houston
Caller Content

Reliant and Houston Astros team up to power baseball fans across Houston

Reliant named the Official Energy Provider of the Houston Astros

Sign up for Houston Caller Newsletters

Keep in touch with everything on Houston Caller. Sign up for our newsletter!
 


Stats
Elapsed time: 0.5818 seconds
Memory useage: 2.77MB
V2.geronimo