FTC Sues Amazon for Secretly Raising Ad Prices, Seeks $20 Billion in Damages

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a major lawsuit against Amazon, accusing the e-commerce giant of secretly raising prices for advertisers. The lawsuit alleges that Amazon raised the minimum price advertisers had to pay to place ads for their products without informing them.

The lawsuit involves over 20 state attorneys general and covers a seven-year window in which Amazon generated tens of billions of dollars. Amazon shares fell by 2.7% after the report was published, dropping below $260 per share.

The FTC has accused Amazon of illegally gaining over $20 billion from unwitting advertising customers. The lawsuit also seeks restitution payments to businesses that were allegedly deceived by Amazon's actions.