Google agrees to pay $500 million for letting Canadian pharmacies peddle drugs in the United States.
U.S. Justice Department officials said the forfeiture of funds was one of the largest in history, with the sum representing revenues Google garnered during the ad campaigns two sources of revenue collected during the campaign, the money Google received as well as the money Canadian pharmacies collected.
Ostensibly, the reason importing Canadian drugs is illegal is because federal regulators cannot guarantee the drugs are safe.
Under the agreement, according to boston.com, Google admits to improperly assisting Canadian online pharmacies.
In a separate statement, Peter F. Neronha, U.S. attorney for the District of Rhode Island said:
“[This action] is about taking a significant step forward in limiting the ability of rogue on-line pharmacies from reaching US consumers, by compelling Google to change its behavior. It is about holding Google responsible for its conduct by imposing a $500 million forfeiture, the kind of forfeiture that will not only get Google’s attention, but the attention of all those who contribute to America’s pill problem.”
[-- Updated to accurately reflect how the $500 million figure was totaled.]
