Amazon sued by FTC, 22 US states over advertising practices

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, alongside over 20 American states, has filed a lawsuit against e-commerce giant Amazon, alleging the company manipulated prices for advertisements on its online marketplace, according to court documents. The FTC reportedly planned to claim Amazon deceived advertisers by secretly increasing the minimum fees required for placing ads, as per reports from the Wall Street Journal.

The lawsuit alleges that these deceptive practices resulted in billions of dollars in harm for advertisers, while the states could pursue civil penalties and seek to recover some of the lost revenue. In September of the previous year, Amazon had agreed to settle FTC allegations by paying $2.5 billion in fines and reimbursements to Prime subscribers, following claims that the company deceived customers to generate subscriptions.

Following the news of the lawsuit, Amazon's stock price experienced a 3 percent decline in afternoon trading.