Google has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a 14-year-old class-action lawsuit accusing the company of charging advertisers for ads displayed outside the geographic locations they had targeted. The proposed settlement, filed in a California court on Thursday, still requires approval from a judge.

The lawsuit, first filed in 2011, centered around Google AdWords, now known as Google Ads, and claimed that Google broke California's Unfair Competition law by misleading advertisers about the locations where their ads would be displayed. The lawsuit also alleged that Google failed to provide "Smart Pricing" discounts as promised.

According to the lawsuit, Google charged advertisers for clicks on ads placed outside the locations chosen by the advertisers. The class-action lawsuit includes advertisers who used Google's AdWords program between June 1, 2009, and December 13, 2012. The settlement comes after "extensive" fact discovery, which involved reviewing over 910,000 pages of documents and "multiple terabytes" of click data from Google.

In a statement to The Verge, Google spokesperson José Castañeda said, "This case was about ad product features we changed over a decade ago and we're pleased it's resolved." While the settlement is significant, it's just one of several legal challenges facing Google. The company is currently facing a federal antitrust lawsuit that could force it to sell Chrome, as well as a lawsuit from the Department of Justice accusing it of creating a monopoly in the advertising technology industry.

The settlement highlights the ongoing scrutiny of Google's advertising practices and the importance of transparency in digital advertising. As the digital advertising landscape continues to evolve, this settlement serves as a reminder to tech companies to prioritize fairness and accountability in their business practices.

The impact of this settlement will likely be felt beyond Google, as it sets a precedent for other tech companies to re-examine their advertising practices and ensure they are providing accurate and transparent services to their customers. As the tech industry continues to grapple with issues of accountability and transparency, this settlement serves as a significant milestone in the ongoing effort to promote fairness and trust in digital advertising.