Google has agreed to pay 500 million U.S. dollars for running advertisements by online Canadian pharmacies targeting consumers in the U.S.
谷歌公司已同意就为加拿大网络药店发布了以美国消费者为目标群体的广告支付5亿美元的罚款。
The U.S. Justice Department says the ads led to illegal imports of prescription medication into the country, and allowed the purchase of these drugs online without valid prescriptions. The fine is one of the largest-ever in the U.S. for illegal online advertising, and represents money made by Google on ad sales, plus revenue earned by the pharmacies from sales to American customers. Google has since banned the advertising of prescription drugs in the U.S. by Canadian pharmacies. But, the fine didn't come as a total surprise to Google, as the company disclosed in May it had set aside 500 million dollars for a potential settlement.
美国司法部门表示，该广告导致了非法进口处方药到美国，允许没有获得正当的处方就可以购买这些药。这笔罚金是美国历史上针对违法网络广告开具的最大罚金之一，相当于谷歌收取的广告费及该药店从美国消费者获得的收入的总和。谷歌已禁止了加拿大药店在美国打处方药广告。但是，这笔罚金对谷歌来说完全不是一件吃惊的事，据该公司五月份披露，为了解决一个潜在问题拨款5亿美元。