14 DAY TRIAL // Google has agreed to pay $500 million in order to a lawsuit brought by the US government in connection to its profits from ads for non-controlled drugs.
The Justice Department initiated legal action against Google because the company agreed to display ads for Canadian pharmacies despite knowing that importing non-FDA-approved drugs into the United States is illegal.
"The importation of prescription drugs to consumers in the United States is almost always unlawful because the FDA cannot ensure the safety and effectiveness of foreign prescription drugs that are not FDA-approved because the drugs may not meet FDA’s labeling requirements; may not have been manufactured, stored and distributed under proper conditions; and may not have been dispensed in accordance with a valid prescription," the DOJ explains.
Furthermore many of the Canadian pharmacies that sell drugs to United States citizens are not subject to the Canadian regulatory authority and they obtain them from other countries where the standards are even more doubtful.
Google's $500 million forfeiture, which represents its revenue from displaying such ads through AdWords, as well as the revenue of the rogue Canadian pharmacies, is one of the biggest in U.S. history.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island which investigated Google's advertising practices in this case, the company was aware since 2003 that foreign pharmacies are advertising drugs to US consumers through its ad network.
It seems that the company took steps to block pharmacies in other countries from doing this with the exception of those in Canada. Furthermore, it even offered support to the Canadian pharmacies in order to optimize their ads.
Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha described this investigation as "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."