Skip to main content

Google to settle pharmacy ad investigation for $500 mln

google logo
Image used with permission by copyright holder

At a news conference this morning in Rhode Island, U.S. attorney Peter F. Neronha announced that Google has agreed to pay $500 million for improperly enabling Canadian pharmacies to use Google advertising services to target U.S. consumers with discount drug offers. According to Neronha, the settlement is the largest of its kind in U.S. history—and the figure stems partly from Google parting with revenue it earned from Canadian pharmacies participating in Google’s AdWords program. Unlike many settlements, in this case Google is actually admitting to wrongdoing: the company acknowledges that it improperly assisted Canadian pharmacies in selling drugs to U.S. citizens.

Importing prescription drugs into the U.S. is generally illegal since federal regulators cannot monitor and ensure the safety of the medications. In this case, investigators determined selected Canadian pharmacies illegally imported drugs into the United States, and did so with “Google’s knowledge and assistance.”

Recommended Videos

“This investigation is about the patently unsafe, unlawful, importation of prescription drugs by Canadian on-line pharmacies, with Google’s knowledge and assistance, into the United States, directly to U.S. consumers,” said Neronha, in a statement.. “It is 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.”

The investigation, spearheaded by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Rhode Island and the FDA/OCI Rhode Island Task Force found that Google knew Canadian pharmacies were advertising prescription drugs to Google users in the U.S. via AdWords as early as 2003. Moreover, while Google actively worked to prevent pharmacies in other countries (like Mexico) from targeting consumers in the United States, the company continued to allow Canadian pharmacies to advertise to U.S. consumers. Further, Google gave customer support to some Canadian pharmacies from 2003 through 2009, assisting them in placing and optimizing their advertisements and improving the page rankings of their Web sites.

In addition to admitting wrongdoing and paying $500 million, Google has also agreed to a series of compliance and reporting requirements to ensure similar things don’t happen in the future.

Geoff Duncan
Former Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
A coding blunder just ruined a moment of joy for lottery winners
Eurojackpot lottery slips.

Imagine the joy of being notified of a huge lottery win. What would be the first thing you’d do? Get the champagne in? Book a fancy vacation? Call your boss and tell him where to go?

And then imagine being informed that the notification had, in fact, been sent in error. Well, you can always send the booze back and cancel the holiday, but trying to convince your boss that you were just joking ... well, that may be a bigger challenge.

Read more
This TP-Link Wi-Fi 6 router is 45% off in early Prime Day deal
The TP-Link AX1800 Archer AX21 Wi-FI 6 Router on a white background.

If you're planning to buy a new router to improve your home's Wi-Fi network, the good news is that you don't have to wait for Prime Day 2025 to take advantage of huge discounts on router deals from Amazon. Here's an excellent offer — the TP-Link Archer AX21 with an eye-catching 45% discount, which drops its price from $100 to just $55. The $45 in savings will only be available for a limited time though, so you better act fast and proceed with your purchase immediately as this early Prime Day deal may disappear at any moment.

Buy Now

Read more
Watch these AI humanoid robots play soccer like Mbappé … sort of
Humanoid robots playing soccer.

Watching these humanoid robots battle it out on the soccer field, you quickly realize that Kylian Mbappé and his fellow professionals really have little to worry about. At least, for now.

The footage (top) was captured last week in Beijing at the RoBoLeague World Robot Soccer League, China's first-ever three-on-three humanoid robot soccer league.

Read more