Senators Urge FTC Probe of Amazon, Walmart AI Over Made in USA Claims

Bipartisan senators have called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Amazon and Walmart, alleging their AI shopping chatbots suppress products labeled "Made in USA" and fail to flag fraudulent claims. In a letter sent to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Commissioner Mark Meador on September 18, 2026, Senators Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., requested a formal probe into what they described as anticompetitive practices by the two retail giants. The senators cited a study from Columbia Law School's Center for Law and the Economy, titled "Made in America, Hidden by AI," which found that Amazon's Alexa for Shopping and Walmart's Sparky chatbots have the technical capability to detect and flag "Made in USA" fraud but choose not to. According to the study, when researchers asked Alexa why there was no "Made in USA" filter, the chatbot replied it would redirect significant sales away from their largest seller base, referring to overseas manufacturers. Similarly, when asked why fraudulent "Made in USA" claims were not flagged, Walmart's Sparky chatbot reportedly cited limited FTC enforcement against retailers, calling it a business calculation.