Overview
- The FTC’s consumer protection unit is examining if the companies misled advertisers about ad terms and pricing for search and sponsored listings, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Investigators are seeking details on Amazon’s real-time ad auctions, including whether it used reserve prices for some search ads without clear disclosure.
- The review of Google focuses on internal pricing changes that may have raised advertiser costs without notice.
- The investigations are ongoing, the FTC and Google declined to comment, and Amazon did not respond to requests for comment.
- The new scrutiny follows antitrust cases that found Google holds illegal monopolies in parts of search and ad tech and comes as Amazon’s advertising business generated about $56 billion last year.