Google agreed to pay $7 million to settle charges that it did not reimburse or credit its AdWords advertisers for fraudulent conduct/invalid activity. The 7$ million class action settlement helps Google AdWords advertisers who were charged for clicks on ads displayed on DoubleClick Ad Exchange websites. Between the timeline December 13, 2013, to April 28, 2022, whose accounts were not subject to an arbitration clause in their terms.
Businesses can advertise on Google search results using Google Ads (Google Adwords). These advertisements show up in pertinent searches and bring in customers for businesses.
Although these adverts can be helpful for companies trying to draw in clients, Google may not adequately reward advertisers. For example, according to a Google AdWords class-action lawsuit, Google refused some advertisers’ refunds or credits for clicks or impressions resulting from “invalid activity” or a breach of Google standards.
Plaintiffs contend that Google should have provided a refund or credit when clicks or impressions were discovered to result from fraudulent sources. In addition, the rules of Google’s advertising, the California False Advertising Law, and the California Unfair Competition Law were allegedly broken by failing to comply.
Despite refusing to acknowledge wrongdoing, Google consented to settle this class action lawsuit for $7 million. In addition, class members will receive a cash award under the terms of the Google AdWords settlement.
According to the money that class members have spent (on Google AdWords advertisements) on any of the DoubleClick Ad Exchange publisher site, each payment will represent a proportionate share of the net settlement fund. At this moment, there are no payment projections available. But the settlement excludes any payment from class members with less than a $1 proportional share of the settlement fund.
Now the question arises of who qualifies for the settlement? The settlement helps Google AdWords advertisers who were charged for clicks or impressions on ads that appear on DoubleClick Ad Exchange websites. The timeline for that is between December 13, 2013, to April 28, 2022, but whose accounts were not subject to an arbitration clause in their terms. Class members must submit a valid claim form by August 30, 2022, to be eligible for a payout from the Google AdWords settlement.
After settlement payments have been distributed, any extra money will be given to the non-profit advocacy organization Public Justice. The deadline date is August 20, 2022. The settlement’s final approval hearing is slated for October 27, 2022.
