Staff Reports
A rare show of bipartisan teeth has appeared on Main Street. Senators Tammy Baldwin and Rick Scott asked the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation into Amazon and Walmart. The charge: their AI shopping chatbots may be hiding or downplaying “Made in USA” products and the companies may be ignoring fake American labels.
What the senators are asking
Senators Baldwin and Scott sent a letter to FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson and Commissioner Mark R. Meador. They point to a Columbia Law School report that tested Amazon’s “Alexa for Shopping” and Walmart’s “Sparky.” The senators say the report shows the chatbots can tell where products come from but often fail to point shoppers to U.S.-made goods. The letter asks the FTC to investigate whether that amounts to unfair or anticompetitive conduct and whether the marketplaces are failing to police fraudulently labeled products.
What the Columbia report found
The Columbia study, titled “Made in America, Hidden by AI,” found three big things. First, the platforms have the technical ability to detect country of origin. Second, fake “Made in USA” claims are common on both marketplaces. Third, in tests Alexa sometimes refused to answer “Made in USA” queries while answering similar “Made in China” questions. In plain English: the bots know enough to help shoppers, but they often don’t. The report even cites chatbot replies that suggest flagging domestic goods would hurt major sellers’ sales — not an encouraging answer from a supposedly neutral tool.
Why this matters for consumers and workers
Consumers who try to buy American should be able to trust what the labels and tools say. When marketplace tools bury information or shrug at fraud, shoppers lose out and American manufacturers lose customers and jobs. The White House has already signaled this is a problem by issuing an executive order asking for tougher action on false “Made in America” ads. The FTC has also warned marketplaces before. So this isn’t a new idea — it’s a push to make enforcement stick where it’s needed.
Where things likely go next
Now the ball is with the FTC. The agency can open a staff inquiry, demand documents from Amazon and Walmart, and force transparency about how Alexa and Sparky decide what to show. Amazon has pushed back with a general denial; Walmart has been quieter. That’s not good enough. If America wants to buy American, regulators should not let shopping bots play favorites with foreign-made goods. The senators did the right thing by shining a light on the problem — now regulators should stop staring and start acting.
