The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is currently investigating whether Amazon and Google misled advertisers on their websites, according to a source familiar with the matter. The FTC’s consumer protection unit is conducting the investigations, focusing on whether both companies properly disclosed the terms and pricing for their ads.
The agency is reportedly seeking details about Amazon’s advertising auctions, specifically whether the company disclosed its “reserve pricing” for certain search ads. Reserve pricing is the minimum price an advertiser must agree to before they can purchase an ad.
Similarly, the FTC is also examining Google’s practices, including its internal pricing processes and whether it increased the cost of ads in ways that were not made clear to advertisers. This development was first reported by Bloomberg News.
