The FTC alleges that 1-800-CONTACTS worked through at least 14 different search engine auctions to make it nearly impossible for smaller competitors to be found. In short, 1-800-CONTACTS spent big money to make sure that consumers saw them and not the competition.
In addition to essentially stopping competing sites from being found, the FTC alleges that the behavior is harmful to consumers because there were too many misleading advertisements in addition to the restrictive list of search results. Because of this, the FTC stated that some consumers ended up paying prices that were even higher than retail.
Federal Court Issues Order Against 1-800-CONTACTS
The federal court order issued against 1-800-CONTACTS prohibits the company from continuing to collaborate with other companies in restricting search results for those looking to learn more about their contact lens options. 1-800-CONTACTS is also prohibited from telling search engines to stop showing any results (other than theirs) for specific keywords.
