The Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation into whether Amazon and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, misled advertisers who place ads on their websites.
The federal agency is looking into whether Amazon and Google properly disclosed the pricing structure of their ads to potential advertisers, according to Bloomberg. It is looking into whether Amazon’s advertising “auctions“ made advertisers aware of “reserve pricing,” or price floors they must meet in order to buy an ad. The FTC is also looking into Google’s internal pricing structure for ads and whether it properly made advertisers aware of price increases.
The scrutiny came as technology companies found some relief in President Donald Trump’s second term. Tech CEOs have paraded through the White House and halls of government this year to curry favor with the president, including at a State Dining Room dinner last week, in an effort to halt federal investigations and stave off potential tariffs.
But FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson, a Republican who has sought to “end Big Tech’s vendetta against competition and free speech,” has kept the sector in his purview. He sent a letter to an array of tech companies last month — including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet — warning them to maintain Americans’ data security or face consequences.
The investigation into Amazon stemmed from a larger antitrust investigation into whether it monopolized online services, according to Bloomberg. That case is set to go to trial in federal court in early 2027.
The FTC declined to comment. Representatives for Amazon declined to comment. Google did not respond to immediate requests for comment.
