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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched a new investigation into the online advertising practices of Google and Amazon, focusing on the transparency of their auction pricing mechanisms and whether advertisers may have been misled.
The probe is being led by the FTC’s Consumer Protection Bureau. According to a report by Bloomberg News, the inquiry seeks to determine whether the two tech giants have withheld critical information during the ad bidding process, thereby influencing advertisers’ strategies and inflating their costs.
Google currently relies on an automated real-time auction system, completing the ranking and sale of ads in less than a second after a user enters a search query. Amazon employs a similar instant-bidding framework, placing “sponsored products” and “sponsored ads” prominently within search results on its platform.
A central question for regulators is whether Amazon has failed to disclose the use of reserve pricing—the minimum bid threshold required for advertisers to secure placement. At the same time, Google is under scrutiny for allegedly adjusting ad costs behind the scenes, potentially forcing advertisers to pay higher rates without their knowledge.
This is not the first time Google has faced challenges regarding antitrust or advertising transparency. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) successfully persuaded a federal judge to rule that Google holds a monopolistic position in the online ad technology market and is pushing for a structural breakup of its ad business.
Nevertheless, Google recently prevailed in a separate antitrust case concerning its Chrome browser, allowing it to maintain its dominant position in the browser market.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson has previously emphasized that regulating large technology platforms is a top priority. As tech executives continue to secure influence through major investments and high-level government engagement, regulatory oversight of the digital advertising ecosystem has grown increasingly assertive.
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