Amazon has found itself in hot water as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges that it used a clandestine algorithm; Project Nessie.
, the e-commerce behemoth, has found itself in hot water as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission alleges that it used a clandestine algorithm, internally dubbed, to rake in over $1 billion in extra profit. This revelation came to light on November 2, following a lawsuit filed by the FTC and 17 states against Amazon in September. The lawsuit had many details under wraps, which were later unveiled when a version of the lawsuit with fewer redactions became public in the U.S. District Court in Seattle.
However, the FTC claims that Amazon could reactivate the project at any time. Last year, Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores, supposedly contemplated restarting Nessie to enhance Amazon’s retail unit profits in anticipation of inflation that could impact the company’s profitability.