Amazon Sued by FTC Over Alleged Advertising Price Inflation

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 22 states have filed a lawsuit against Amazon, alleging that the e-commerce giant defrauded advertisers through misleading practices.

The suit claims that Amazon overcharged 1.2 million customers by inflating advertising prices in online auctions, while offering competitive prices to advertisers in reality. According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon earned tens of billions of dollars from this model.

The FTC and states argue that Amazon's practices allow the company to extract additional revenue from sellers on its platform, which is then passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.