Federal regulators have banned the sale of prescription drugs from foreign countries because they cannot ensure their safety.
As early as 2003, Google “was aware of these advertisements by Canadian online pharmacies, and that these pharmacies were in fact unlawfully shipping prescription drugs into the United States,’’ Neronha said. Google actively assisted the pharmacies in developing advertising strategies that would enhance their sales, and its own revenues, he said.
In an e-mailed statement, Google acknowledged wrongdoing. “While we banned the advertising of prescription drugs in the US by Canadian pharmacies some time ago, it’s obvious with hindsight that we shouldn’t have allowed these ads on Google in the first place,’’ the Mountain View, Calif., technology company wrote.
A spokesman for Google declined to comment further.
In the past, the company successfully defended itself against lawsuits over ads placed through Google by saying it did not write the ads, so it should not be responsible for their content.
“Certainly it is not common for search engines to be held responsible for their advertisements,’’ Neronha said. “Frankly, that was a source of a great deal of concern on the part of the legal team.’’
Federal investigators, however, concluded that Google had crossed a line by actively helping the online pharmacies improve their advertising strategies, he said.
The settlement may open the door for more government investigation of Google’s role in placing questionable ads, said Ben Edelman, assistant professor at Harvard Business School and a consultant on Web advertising fraud.
Google is “still running various ads that are deceptive, and, I’m confident, unlawful,’’ Edelman said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if some state attorneys general are more aggressive after seeing the wrong righted by this investigation, and the opportunity to put an end to other deceptive ads at Google.’’
