‘Frogs in the boiling water’: The Amazon-FTC case and the myth of ad auction transparency
The regulator accused Amazon of “deceptive and unfair practices,” but the e-commerce giant’s opaque auction dynamics aren’t all that unusual in today’s digital ad market.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against Amazon's on-platform search advertising business has been likened to "frogs in the boiling water" by industry insiders. Despite the FTC's allegations of Amazon's questionable ad auction tactics, marketers have remained relatively unchanged in their approach. Agency executives have not witnessed an influx of concerned questions or requests for information regarding Amazon's ad auction dynamics.
"Business as usual" seems to be the prevailing sentiment, as the FTC's concerns over Amazon's auction practices appear to align more with the already existing opacity of these auctions.
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