{
  "id": 4755475,
  "title": "Amazon rigged billions in ad pricing, lawsuit from states and US watchdog alleges",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/amazon-rigged-billions-in-ad-pricing-lawsuit-from-states-and-us-4755475",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-31T23:24:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/amazon-rigged-billions-in-ad-pricing-lawsuit-from-states-and-us-watchdog-alleges/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 22 states have filed a lawsuit accusing Amazon of rigging billions in ad pricing through secret manipulation of online auctions used to set ad prices. According to the lawsuit, filed on Monday, Amazon has allegedly overcharged more than a million advertising customers by charging them close to 80% of the time the winning bid amount in \"second price\" auctions. The FTC claims that this scheme has likely generated over $20 billion in profits for Amazon since 2019. The complaint states that Amazon's actions are driven by its dissatisfaction with the revenue generated by its advertising auctions. Amazon denies the allegations, stating that it \"strongly disagrees\" with the premise that it misled advertisers and called the lawsuit \"misguided.\" The company's shares fell 2.5% following the announcement of the lawsuit.",
  "summary": "The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a bipartisan group of 22 states has filed a lawsuit alleging Amazon secretly overcharged more than a million advertising customers by manipulating online auctions it uses to set ad prices.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "FTC to file lawsuit alleging Amazon deceived advertisers, WSJ reports",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/ftc-to-file-lawsuit-alleging-amazon-deceived-advertisers-wsj-reports",
        "published": "2026-08-31T18:19:41.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Investing.com",
        "title": "FTC to file lawsuit alleging Amazon deceived advertisers, WSJ reports",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/ftc-to-file-lawsuit-alleging-amazon-deceived-advertisers-wsj-reports-4691845",
        "published": "2026-08-31T18:24:40.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "TechCrunch",
        "title": "FTC accuses Amazon of running a ‘secret ad surcharge scheme’ in new lawsuit",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/ftc-accuses-amazon-of-running-a-secret-ad-surcharge-scheme-in-new",
        "published": "2026-08-31T20:20:25.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC Technology",
        "title": "Amazon rigged billions in ad pricing, lawsuit from states and US watchdog alleges",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/amazon-rigged-billions-in-ad-pricing-lawsuit-from-states-and-us",
        "published": "2026-08-31T21:28:49.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Verge",
        "title": "FTC lawsuit alleges Amazon has been ‘secretly and systematically’ overcharging for ads",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/ftc-lawsuit-alleges-amazon-has-been-secretly-and-systematically",
        "published": "2026-08-31T21:41:42.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}