Google Gets B-Slapped By The US Government To The Tune Of $500 Million

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This has to do with Google collecting advertising fees from online pharmacies that were acting outside of the law, which led to a DOJ investigation.

"According to Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole; Peter F. Neronha, U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island; and Kathleen Martin-Weis, Acting Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA/OCI), this forfeiture is one of the largest ever in the United States, and represents "the gross revenue received by Google as a result of Canadian pharmacies advertising through Google's AdWords program, plus gross revenue made by Canadian pharmacies from their sales to U.S. consumers."

"The Department of Justice will continue to hold accountable companies who in their bid for profits violate federal law and put at risk the health and safety of American consumers," said Deputy Attorney General Cole. "This settlement ensures that Google will reform its improper advertising practices with regard to these pharmacies while paying one of the largest financial forfeiture penalties in history."

U.S. Attorney Neronha, added that this settlement was about taking a significant step forward in limiting the ability of rogue on-line pharmacies from reaching U.S. consumers, by compelling Google to change its behavior," and that this kind of forfeiture "will not only get Google's attention, but the attention of all those who contribute to America's pill problem."

Here is the link to the entire article:

Google to Settle with U.S. Government for $500 Million | TechCrunch

I wonder if this is going to make Google tougher on it's advertisers? Let's discuss.

RoD
#main internet marketing discussion forum #$500 #bslapped #google #government #million #tune
  • Banned
    Meh? I thought Google had cracked down on online pharmacy ads several years ago. Guess I was wrong.

    It probably WILL make Google tougher on its advertisers, and in my opinion, they're quite tough enough already. But that's life.
    • [1] reply
    • They quit doing pharmacy ads years ago. This has been going on forever.
  • Online Pharmacy is one Big fish in a small pond..
    There are loads of areas where Google needs to strengthen itself..
  • I get tons of pharmacy products into my spam folder. It is a huge market but exploited and spammed to death.

    Cheers
    Kim
  • Oh yeah...im pretty sure they are going to keep an EVEN closer eye on their adwords advertisers...
    • [1] reply
    • One tends to assume that the parties in an action like this are adversaries, but I'm not so sure. Google has a long history of cooperating with governments under duress.

      fLufF
      --
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • Holy crapoli!

    That is a B-Slap indeed. Wow. Now Google is going to tighten their belts even more... Just dandy!

    Best,
    Shane
    • [1] reply
    • I believe I heard Google's response to this on the news today. They are whining that the pharmacies involved in this advertising are always coming up with new ways to skirt around Google's method of stopping them.

      I paraphrased their response, so it may not be exact. But you have to admit, the scammers are always coming up with new ways to get around the rules.

  • Ok well this is chump change for google, they grossed 24 billion last year so its a drop in the bucket.

    The government should charge them more ! lol :p
    • [2] replies
    • Those Canadians. ArrghH!
      • [1] reply
    • It's definitely not chump change, not even for Google, granted they might get some accounting / tax breaks for paying the fine, but it's still a lot of money. They had total revenues in 2010 of 29.3 billion. Their gross profit was 18.9 billion. And their net income after taxes was 8.5 billion for the fiscal year. So 500 million is definitely not "chump change". That's still quite a bite.

      RoD
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    Google Gets B-Slapped By The US Government To The Tune Of $500 Million

    This has to do with Google collecting advertising fees from online pharmacies that were acting outside of the law, which led to a DOJ investigation. "According to Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole; Peter F. Neronha, U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island; and Kathleen Martin-Weis, Acting Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA/OCI), this forfeiture is one of the largest ever in the United States, and represents "the gross revenue received by Google as a result of Canadian pharmacies advertising through Google's AdWords program, plus gross revenue made by Canadian pharmacies from their sales to U.S. consumers."