Iowa AG Joins Multi-State Lawsuit Against Amazon Over Ad Price Manipulation

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has joined a multi-state lawsuit against Amazon, alleging that the corporation overcharged small Iowa businesses for advertising since 2019. The lawsuit claims Amazon manipulated the auctions it uses to set ad prices on its platform, overriding auction results with higher prices and inflating prices on peak shopping days. This practice allegedly allowed Amazon to hide the price inflation through extensive testing to assess the risk of detection.

According to the lawsuit, Amazon has overcharged 1.2 million advertising customers since 2019. Bird shared in a statement that 'One of the most profitable companies in the world is making money off the back of Iowa small businesses.' She warned that if these businesses' costs continue to rise, they will pass those costs on to their customers, ultimately affecting Iowans who buy from Amazon.

The lawsuit also highlights the significant sales generated by independent Iowa sellers on Amazon. Last year, these sellers sold over 14 million items on the platform, with an average sales figure of $315,000 per seller.