Columbia report says chatbots sideline U.S.-origin data
Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D., Wis.) and Rick Scott (R., Fla.) wrote in a letter to FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson and Commissioner Mark R. Meador asking the agency to investigate how Amazon and Walmart’s AI-powered shopping chatbots handle “Made in the USA” claims. The senators said the bots “may obscure and suppress” information about which products are made in the U.S. and which falsely claim to be made there.
The letter cited a July report from Columbia University’s Center for Law and the Economy — a policy center co-founded by former FTC Chair Lina Khan — that found Amazon’s Alexa and Walmart’s Sparky “sideline” data regarding products’ American-origin claims while providing information about products made in other countries.
“We all share the goal of strengthening American manufacturing and small businesses through initiatives such as Made in USA labeling, all while ensuring consumers receive accurate information about where the products they buy are made,” the senators wrote, encouraging the agency to consider unnamed enforcement measures following an investigation.
In a statement, Sen. Baldwin said Amazon and Walmart are undermining U.S.-based manufacturers. “If Americans want to buy products made in America, Amazon and Walmart should be helping them, not giving away their business to foreign knockoffs,” she said.
Amazon responded with a statement repeating its earlier position that any suggestion it intentionally withholds country-of-origin information is incorrect. “We strive to provide customers with detailed information about products in our store, including where they are made when that information is provided to us by manufacturers or third-party sellers,” Amazon said. “Country-of-origin information, when available, is currently displayed on product detail pages, and we’re continually working to improve Alexa for Shopping’s ability to accurately provide this information to make it even more accessible for customers.”
Walmart declined to comment. The FTC did not respond to a request for comment.
In tests conducted by the report’s authors and reproduced by the WSJ Leadership Institute, Amazon’s Alexa initially said it could not access data regarding domestically made products, but slight changes to search terms produced a list of items labeled as U.S.-made. Walmart’s Sparky initially said it could not assess the accuracy of “Made in USA” claims, but repeated prompts led the bot to rank products in a shopping cart based on the reliability of such labels; Sparky called its earlier refusal “overly cautious.”
Erie Meyer, senior fellow at the Center for Law and the Economy and co-author of the July report, said the bipartisan request was notable. “Seeing Sen. Baldwin and Sen. Scott sign the same letter gives me hope that supporting American businesses is still a bipartisan issue,” Meyer said.
The FTC’s “Made in USA” Labeling Rule went into effect in 2021, subjecting marketers to potential civil penalties for inaccurately labeling products as domestically manufactured. Under the Biden administration, the agency took 11 law enforcement actions after the rule took effect, winning multimillion-dollar judgments against companies including home goods maker Williams-Sonoma. The agency has continued enforcement during the Trump administration, taking action against several businesses over national-origin claims and sending warning letters to others.
President Trump signed an executive order in March emphasizing “truthful advertising” and suggesting that the FTC require e-commerce sellers to develop formal processes for verifying third-party sellers’ country-of-origin claims.
The FTC had previously written to Amazon and Walmart in 2025 stating that third-party sellers on their platforms appeared to be falsely marketing products as U.S.-made, potentially violating federal standards and the companies’ terms of service. The senators’ letter said the Center for Law and the Economy report indicates that the issue has not been resolved and that the chatbots may be compounding it.