US-Wettbewerbsbehörde verklagt Amazon wegen unfairer Werbepreise
Das milliardenschwere Unternehmen soll laut der US-Wettbewerbsbehörde künstlich verteuerte Werbeplätze verkauft haben
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and several state governments have filed a lawsuit against e-commerce giant Amazon, accusing the company of artificially inflating advertising prices through secret bidding in online auctions. Over the course of seven years, the FTC claims that Amazon likely earned billions of dollars by secretly raising the prices of ad placements during these auctions. Attorneys general from 22 states joined the federal case, stating that the higher costs were largely passed on to American consumers.
FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson warned that if one of the world's largest online retailers engages in unfair practices, the consequences could be severe. Amazon's stock fell about 2.5% on Monday following the announcement. The complaint alleges that Amazon sought to boost advertising revenues by allowing companies to pay for specific search results, with the winning bidder not required to pay the full amount of their bid, but only one cent more than the runner-up.
According to the FTC, Amazon violated its own rules by winning almost four out of five auctions by paying the full amount of the highest bid, which contravenes the company's established practices. Evidence of this practice was found in internal company documents, which referred to it as a "hidden markup." Additionally, Amazon allegedly inflated prices using fictitious competitors during these auctions.
The lawsuit claims that Amazon changed these practices covertly because the tech giant was dissatisfied with advertising revenue.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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