FTC sues 1-800 Contacts over online search advertising

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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Monday it had sued 1-800 Contacts, which it called the largest U.S. online retailer of contact lenses, alleging the company illegally maintained anticompetitive agreements with rival online contact lens sellers.

These agreements “suppress competition in certain online search advertising auctions and … restrict truthful and non-misleading internet advertising to consumers, resulting in some consumers paying higher retail prices for contact lenses,” the federal regulator said in a statement.

(Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by Bernard Orr)