Google to Pay Half a Billion Dollars to Settle Illegal Pharmacy Ad Debacle

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is finally ending their legal issues over ads for online pharmacy companies. The internet search giant is going to pay the government $500 million to settle the charges, according to the New York Times.

The ads were controversial because they were “from online pharmacies that operate illegally by failing to require a prescription or selling counterfeit drugs” and “web sites are liable for ads on their sites from advertisers that break federal criminal law.”

As Google has grown to become a major global company, it seems they continue to address increasing legal issues like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) have after becoming global behemoths.

Google’s stock (NASDAQ:GOOG) is up 1.3% on the news despite the very sizable legal payout.

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