Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) have asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to address online price gouging of baby formula during the nationwide shortage.
The Democrats sent a letter Monday requesting the agency issue a public advisory to encourage online marketplaces to put measures in place to detect and prevent exploitative practices by third-party vendors selling infant formula.
The FTC launched an inquiry into the formula shortage in May. The advisory for online marketplaces such as eBay, Facebook and Amazon would help complement the ongoing work, the Democrats said.
“While the steps outlined in the FTC’s announcement last month are encouraging, we request that the FTC additionally emphasize that online marketplaces can and should make efforts to protect users from price gougers and scammers. There are common-sense measures that online marketplaces can take to prevent fraud and unfair business practices, and it should not be solely the burden of consumers to uncover such deception,” they wrote.
The letter cites reports with examples of vendors selling formulas on eBay for almost double the price of what it is sold in stores, and of vendors on Facebook selling products that don’t exist. In one reported case, a Facebook vendor disappeared without shipping any formula to a consumer who paid $300.
“Vendors must not be allowed to take advantage of this national crisis by selling products at unreasonable…
