Amazon Pulled Over 1 Million Items Capitalizing On Coronavirus

Amazon is cracking down on third-party merchants who violate its policies while selling items related to the new coronavirus disease known as Covid-19. Following reports by Wired and others of price gouging and misleading claims, the retail giant confirmed it had removed or blocked over 1 million products that falsely advertised to defend against or cure the illness, as well as tens of thousands of items—such as face masks—that were listed for inflated prices. Reuters first reported the scale of Amazon’s actions Thursday. “Amazon has always required sellers provide accurate information on product detail pages and we remove those that violate our policies,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement. Third-party Amazon sellers are also required to abide by Amazon’s Fair Pricing Policy, which prohibits setting prices that are “significantly higher” than those recently offered on or off Amazon. Read more at Wired.