America's FTC Opens New Probe into Amazon and Google Advertising Practices

America's Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Amazon and Google misled advertisers placing ads on their websites, reports Bloomberg, and specifically whether the two companies "properly disclosed the terms and pricing for ads." The FTC is seeking details about Amazon's auctions and whether it disclosed "reserve pricing" for some search ads — price floors that advertisers must meet before they can buy an ad, the people said. Separately, the FTC is examining practices by Google, including its internal pricing process and whether it increased the cost of ads in ways that weren't disclosed to advertisers, the people said...

According to one of the people, the FTC's latest investigation emerged from its earlier antitrust case. In that complaint, the agency alleges that Amazon litters its marketplace with irrelevant results for search queries, making it harder for shoppers to find what they are looking for and more expensive for sellers to use the platform. The practice effectively forces sellers to buy ads to make their product appear in response to consumer searches.

It's all a shakedown

[alvinrod]

This is just the FTC shaking down those companies for some money (political donations are fines too) for shaking down their customers.

Forget turtles, it's shakedowns all the way down.

Re:

[quonset]

Exactly. They're not even trying to hide it.

Re:

[newbie_fantod]

Gotta' kick up to da boss.

Would Have Made Sense 15 Years Ago

[BrendaEM]

Now, the timing seems suspicious.

\o/

[easyTree]

Apparently, the party which benefits from 1-0 information asymmetry and also sets prices might have been unable to avoid taking advantage? Who would have guessed?

Ask a stupid question

[newcastlejon]

Why do so few large companies advertise on Google?

Why are AdSense ads 50% and 50% phishing "personality quizzes"? Is it simply that they simply default to that stuff absent anything to personalise the ads?

Why are so many YouTube adverts such obvious scams? Surely the scammers aren't outbidding legitimate businesses. Perhaps there's some truth to my pet theory that Google is intentionally serving the worst ads it can to 'encourage' people to pay for premium.

Re: Ask a stupid question

[newcastlejon]

That should have been "50% Temu and 50% phishing etc."

Re: Ask a stupid question

[Fortnite_Beast]

I've been wondering about the scam ads on YouTube. I never see ads for real products anymore. Just those ads about the one weird trick.

Where is TFA ?

[madbrain]

Link goes to msn.com homepage.