(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. is deceiving consumers by failing to clearly delineate between paid advertisements and organic search results on its online marketplace, according to a coalition of unions.
In a complaint filed Wednesday with the Federal Trade Commission, the unions accuse Amazon of violating laws prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices. The coalition says mislabeled ads are so prevalent that Amazon’s search platform itself may be “deceptive as a whole.”
“The vast deception being perpetrated by Amazon through its blatantly unlawful advertising practices affects millions of consumers every day and should be halted,” the Strategic Organizing Center said in the filing.
The FTC, which has been investigating Amazon’s practices, declined to comment about the complaint, which was reported earlier by the Washington Post.
Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but a company spokeswoman told the Post that the complaint “misstates FTC guidance” and that Amazon’s online ads “always include a clear and prominent ‘sponsored’ label, implemented in accordance with FTC guidelines.”
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