Amazon Faces FTC Lawsuit for Manipulating Prices and Earning $1 Billion

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has accused Amazon of using a secret pricing algorithm, codenamed Project Nessie, to manipulate prices and generate over $1 billion in revenue. The algorithm allowed Amazon to raise prices on items and monitor if competitors followed suit. If competitors didn't raise their prices, Amazon would return the item to its original amount. The FTC's lawsuit against Amazon also alleges anti-competitive practices such as favoring its own products in search results and punishing sellers for discounting outside the Amazon marketplace. Amazon denies the allegations and claims that Project Nessie was intended to prevent unsustainable price matching outcomes.