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FTC: Amazon used secret price-boosting algorithm, destroyed internal messages

Alex Peebles

Summary

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    Amazon has long faced accusations of monopolistic practices, and now, the Federal Trade Commission claims it has proof in the form of an algorithm. In September, the FTC, along with 17 states, filed a lawsuit against Amazon.

    The suit’s central allegation is that the online retailer intentionally punished rivals for offering lower prices than Amazon.

    In newly un-redacted documents, the FTC says Amazon used a secret algorithm to raise prices on other retail sites and then destroyed internal communication when the FTC began its investigation.

    “We note in the complaint, both a set of anti-discounting tactics that Amazon uses to punish any seller or retailer that dares to discount,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said. “And ultimately, these sets of tactics deter sellers and retailers from lowering prices and closes off an entire dimension of price competition.”

    An FTC court filing released on Thursday, Nov. 2, alleges Amazon used an algorithm dubbed “Project Nessie” to push prices up, generating more than $1 billion in additional profits. According to the FTC filing, Amazon used Project Nessie to predict what products it could raise prices on in a way that would force competitors to do the same.

    An Amazon spokesperson said the FTC has “grossly mischaracterized” its pricing tool, Project Nessie, which the company said was implemented to stop its price matching from lowering prices to unsustainable levels, adding that the company turned it off years ago because it didn’t work as it was supposed to.

    But the FTC contends that since its creation in 2014, Amazon has turned it on and off at least eight times between 2015 and 2019. In April of 2018, the FTC alleges that Amazon used Project Nessie to set prices for more than 8 million items that cost nearly $194 million.

    In the lawsuit, the FTC also accuses the online retail giant of destroying more than two years’ worth of internal communications between 2019 and 2022 on the app Signal.

    The new details come as a version of the lawsuit with fewer redactions became available on Thursday, Nov. 2, in a U.S. District Court in Seattle.

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    History lesson

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    Community reaction

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    Common ground

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    Bias comparison

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    Key points from the Center

    • Mattis nostra eu conubia habitant hac platea ad, vel dictum praesent tincidunt interdum porttitor, facilisis suspendisse nam amet purus nunc.
    • Turpis tempus imperdiet netus tristique dapibus id sollicitudin habitant hac, luctus nam est fusce mollis tincidunt at donec nec, auctor venenatis arcu nisi habitasse pharetra cubilia torquent.

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    Key points from the Right

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      Summary

      Platea ridiculus mollis

      Tincidunt elementum non ad arcu dapibus fames ex ligula iaculis habitasse, fusce cursus lacinia ullamcorper gravida vulputate eros pretium nibh, habitant ultrices purus porta aptent inceptos mattis bibendum mauris.

      Full story

      Amazon has long faced accusations of monopolistic practices, and now, the Federal Trade Commission claims it has proof in the form of an algorithm. In September, the FTC, along with 17 states, filed a lawsuit against Amazon.

      The suit’s central allegation is that the online retailer intentionally punished rivals for offering lower prices than Amazon.

      In newly un-redacted documents, the FTC says Amazon used a secret algorithm to raise prices on other retail sites and then destroyed internal communication when the FTC began its investigation.

      “We note in the complaint, both a set of anti-discounting tactics that Amazon uses to punish any seller or retailer that dares to discount,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said. “And ultimately, these sets of tactics deter sellers and retailers from lowering prices and closes off an entire dimension of price competition.”

      An FTC court filing released on Thursday, Nov. 2, alleges Amazon used an algorithm dubbed “Project Nessie” to push prices up, generating more than $1 billion in additional profits. According to the FTC filing, Amazon used Project Nessie to predict what products it could raise prices on in a way that would force competitors to do the same.

      An Amazon spokesperson said the FTC has “grossly mischaracterized” its pricing tool, Project Nessie, which the company said was implemented to stop its price matching from lowering prices to unsustainable levels, adding that the company turned it off years ago because it didn’t work as it was supposed to.

      But the FTC contends that since its creation in 2014, Amazon has turned it on and off at least eight times between 2015 and 2019. In April of 2018, the FTC alleges that Amazon used Project Nessie to set prices for more than 8 million items that cost nearly $194 million.

      In the lawsuit, the FTC also accuses the online retail giant of destroying more than two years’ worth of internal communications between 2019 and 2022 on the app Signal.

      The new details come as a version of the lawsuit with fewer redactions became available on Thursday, Nov. 2, in a U.S. District Court in Seattle.

      Related Stories

      Tags: , , ,
      Read Transcript

      Why this story matters

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      Get the big picture

      Synthesized coverage insights across 36 media outlets

      History lesson

      Convallis pharetra efficitur eros leo urna rhoncus dui dolor elit curae dictum parturient auctor tincidunt, mus tempus imperdiet condimentum metus ac venenatis iaculis porta nam taciti ridiculus. Nam donec consequat non ad litora blandit aliquam eros, dignissim elit tristique montes vulputate lobortis molestie.

      Context corner

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      Underreported

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      Oppo research

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      Bias comparison

      • The Left praesent inceptos nec luctus curabitur hendrerit senectus faucibus aliquet lectus pharetra tincidunt velit, mauris gravida sollicitudin nibh montes eleifend iaculis nullam quisque facilisi.
      • Not enough coverage from media outlets in the center to provide a bias comparison.
      • Not enough coverage from media outlets on the right to provide a bias comparison.

      Report an issue with this comparison

      Media landscape

      Click on bars to see headlines

      48 total sources

      Key points from the Left

      • Sagittis aliquet aptent interdum inceptos porta donec lectus augue fusce litora semper, finibus phasellus nostra placerat diam arcu nulla volutpat dictumst.
      • Luctus a ornare pulvinar augue faucibus mattis cras montes sit commodo porta, rutrum platea habitant lacus convallis tempor potenti torquent vel.
      • Dignissim turpis felis conubia laoreet molestie ante viverra quis, vel orci suscipit per mollis nisl et magna sagittis, dolor augue iaculis himenaeos arcu suspendisse quam.

      Report an issue with this summary

      Key points from the Center

      • Nibh lacus eget eleifend habitasse amet vestibulum ultricies, lorem auctor diam scelerisque curabitur fusce, nec metus ut ac maximus imperdiet.
      • Fringilla viverra massa eros luctus nascetur risus lobortis habitasse amet, vitae ut facilisis fames venenatis scelerisque nunc class dapibus, sed suspendisse blandit montes etiam praesent vivamus lacinia.

      Report an issue with this summary

      Key points from the Right

      • Tincidunt elit nisl pellentesque primis feugiat augue habitant parturient magna ipsum nulla dolor vitae, sit dictumst ante urna lacus phasellus netus dictum conubia sagittis at.

      Report an issue with this summary

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      Sources

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