Amazon used secret algorithm to raise prices on other sites, FTC says
The FTC and 17 states say the company is abusing its position in the marketplace to inflate prices and stifle competition.
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The FTC and 17 states say the company is abusing its position in the marketplace to inflate prices and stifle competition.
Amazon used a series of illegal strategies to stay on top of online retailing while pushing up prices for buyers and extracting more revenue from independent sellers, the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday.
The agency alleges Amazon executives “systematically and intentionally deleted” more than two years of internal communications.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Amazon.com used a series of illegal strategies to boost profits at its online retail empire, including an algorithm that pushed up prices U.S. households paid by more than $1 billion, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission detailed in a new court filing on Thursday. Amazon spokesperson Tim Doyle said the FTC "grossly mischaracterizes" the pricing tool and the company stopped using it several years ago.
The $1 trillion company monitored its sellers and punished them if they offered lower prices on other platforms, the FTC said.