Deceptive Amazon Marketing And The FTC

On February 16, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") fined The Bountiful Company ("Bountiful") $600,000 for its misleading marketing practices on the Amazon e-commerce site. The FTC is a United States governmental agency whose primary mission is to protect consumers and enforce civil antitrust laws. Bountiful is a New York State corporation that markets and sells vitamins, minerals, and other supplements primarily through the Nature's Bounty and Sundown brands. The FTC's complaint alleged that Bountiful knowingly abused an Amazon convenience feature to market its newer/underperforming products by using reviews for Bountiful's established products. After reviewing the allegations, Bountiful signed a Consent Agreement with the FTC, agreeing to a fine of $600,000, as well as mandatory injunctive provisions. The complaint against Bountiful was the first FTC case involving Amazon "review hijacking." Because it will certainly not be the last, vendors engaged in