Google caught using fake reviews to promote Pixel 4, agrees to pay $8 million as settlement

When people want to know about anything under the sun, Google remains the staple source of information, and almost every smartphone is powered by Android. But the firm which controls 94 per cent of the search engine market and 72 per cent of the phone OS space, has been repeatedly pulled up over exploiting its dominant position.

After a $160 million penalty in India for unfair trade practices, Google has accepted a settlement worth $8 million in the US, in a case related to false advertisement.

Baseless reviews

• The tech giant had been accused of getting radio announcers to give testimonials about its Pixel 4 smartphone, even though they hadn't used it.

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton slammed Google for making blatantly false statements to promote their smartphone.

• The blow comes as Google is struggling to carve out a significant share in the smartphone market, and only has a 0.2 per cent share in India.

More trouble on Indian shores

• Google has been facing anti-trust cases in the US, Europe and India, as Tinder's Match Group and other apps are now seeking further action against the company.

• They claim that the User Choice Billing system brought in by Google for in-app payments is anti-competitive, and have convinced India's competition watchdog to order an inquiry.