FTC’s Latest Amazon Lawsuit Shows Misplaced Enforcement Priorities, Says ITIF

WASHINGTON—Following the announcement that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 22 state attorneys general have sued Amazon alleging it secretly inflated prices in its online search advertising auctions, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy, released the following statement from ITIF President Daniel Castro:

The FTC has already extracted $2.5 billion from Amazon in a consumer protection case settled last year. Now it is back for another massive lawsuit—but where is the consumer harm?

The FTC’s new case appears to rely on cherry-picking internal documents to portray a common, industry-standard auction practice as deception. If advertising costs had genuinely been inflated at consumers’ expense, then the FTC should be able to point to clear evidence of substantial injury rather than simply second-guessing how Amazon runs its ad auctions.

Americans face real affordability challenges, from rising energy costs to persistent concerns about household expenses. The FTC should be asking whether another years-long crusade against Amazon is the best use of its limited enforcement resources. Consumer protection should focus on protecting consumers—not simply extracting another pound of flesh from Big Tech.