Google has agreed to pay 500 million U.S. dollars for running advertisements by online Canadian pharmacies targeting consumers in the U.S.

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.

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