Part of the big FTC lawsuit against Amazon includes something called “Project Nessie”. The docs in the lawsuit accuse Amazon of using algorithmic code that would inflate prices on Amazon, but through the agreements, off Amazon as well. This was said to keep others from being able to gain scale by lowering prices. The FTC complaint goes into a battle about how lower prices would encourage sales, and Amazon claims the opposite. This all forms into the accusations against Amazon. This will be unfolding for years, and since the code is no longer in use, means that Amazon may escape some punishment. In a world where code can be changed frequently, and dramatically, this approach may continue to be successful for decades.
Report reveals details about Amazon’s secret algorithm redacted in FTC complaint.
Found at arstechnica.com
