Amazon sued by US Federal Trade Commission, 22 states over ad sales practices
The e-commerce company allegedly sometimes entered its own bids in auctions, ostensibly raising prices for others
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against e-commerce giant Amazon, joined by 22 US states, alleging the company raised ad prices for advertisers without their knowledge. According to the FTC, Amazon surreptitiously entered its own bids in auction processes, raising the minimum price for other advertisers' ads, allegedly costing them billions of dollars.
The agency claims Amazon inflated auction prices for advertisers, costing them up to $20 billion, while consumers paid higher prices for goods on Amazon. The FTC seeks "tens of billions" in damages. Amazon denies wrongdoing, stating its advertising policies aim to show shoppers the most relevant ads and that average costs per click for advertisers remained flat from 2019 to 2024, with sales generated from those clicks rising.
The lawsuit centers on three types of advertisements: sponsored products, brand, and display ads. The allegations stem from a change in Amazon's auction rules in 2019, during which Amazon allegedly entered its own bids, attempted to conceal those bids from advertisers, and raised prices for others.
Written by urgent.news from The Business Times - Companies & Markets's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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