Amazon Sued by FTC and 22 States Over Alleged Ad Auction Rate Inflation

Amazon is facing a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 22 states over its handling of advertising auctions. The company allegedly 'secretly' inflated its rates for more than six years, making billions of dollars in the process.

The FTC claims that Amazon added hidden surcharges to ad auctions, resulting in advertisers unknowingly overpaying for sponsored product placements and other ads on the platform. This practice has been ongoing since 2019 and continues to this day, according to the lawsuit.

The regulator alleges that Amazon's tactic has illegally extracted over $20 billion from its unwitting advertising customers. The company disputes these claims, stating that it does not have any evidence of consumer price increases as a result of the alleged overcharging.