Senators Tammy Baldwin and Rick Scott are asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Walmart and Amazon are doing enough to keep foreign-made products from being mislabeled as "Made in the USA." The letter to the FTC asks the agency to examine how Walmart's Sparky and Amazon's Alexa AI shopping chatbots verify products' country of origin. It cites a study from Columbia University's Center for Law and Economy, which found that both companies have the technical capability to detect and flag "Made in USA" fraud, and that Amazon's Alexa blocks answers to questions about "Made in USA" products while allowing equivalent questions about products that were "Made in China." The study says these shortcomings let third-party sellers falsely claim merchandise was made in the U.S., and that both chatbots describe the inaction as a business decision rather than a technical limitation. Last year, the FTC wrote to both companies about third-party sellers falsely claiming their products were made in the U.S., in violation of the agency's 2021 "Made in USA" labeling rule. Walmart and Amazon have not yet responded to Seeking Alpha's request for comment.
Amazon.com IncSenators ask the FTC to investigate Amazon's Alexa chatbot for failing to flag foreign-made products falsely labeled 'Made in USA'.
Walmart Inc.Senators ask the FTC to investigate Walmart's Sparky chatbot for failing to flag foreign-made products falsely labeled 'Made in USA'.
