Google Agrees to $100 Million Settlement Over Ad Fraud Allegations

Mar 28, 2025
Mar 28, 2025
Google Agrees to $100 Million Settlement Over Ad Fraud Allegations

Tech giant Google has agreed to pay a $100 million fine to settle a long-standing lawsuit alleging advertising fraud. The lawsuit, which spanned 14 years, accused Google of failing to provide promised discounts to advertisers and charging for ad clicks beyond specified geographic locations, according to a Reuters report.

Lawsuit Origin and Allegations

The case was first filed in March 2011 in a federal court in San Jose, California. Plaintiffs claimed that Google breached contracts with advertisers participating in its AdWords program (now Google Ads) by artificially modifying its "Smart Pricing" formula to reduce discounts.

Additionally, advertisers alleged that Google failed to restrict ad placements to designated locations, thereby violating California’s Unfair Competition Law.

Google’s Response and Settlement Terms

Although Google has not admitted any wrongdoing, the company has agreed to the settlement. A Google spokesperson stated:

"This case concerns ad product features from more than a decade ago, which have since been updated."

The settlement, pending court approval, will apply to advertisers who used AdWords between 2004 and 2012.