Amazon Faces $20 Billion FTC Ad-Rigging Suit as Shares Drop 2.5%
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Aug 31
Amazon Faces $20 Billion FTC Ad-Rigging Suit as Shares Drop 2.5%
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 31
Summary
$20 billion in alleged overcharges sits at the center of a lawsuit by the FTC and 22 states, which says Amazon secretly inflated ad prices for more than 1 million advertisers.
Washington-state court filings say Amazon overrode auction outcomes in supposed second-price auctions, charging Sponsored Products advertisers their own winning bid nearly 80% of the time to lift revenue.
Amazon called the case misguided, said advertisers bid on performance rather than auction descriptions, and argued average winning bids on Sponsored Products search ads fell 50% from 2019 to 2025.
2.5% lower shares followed the filing as regulators also argued the higher ad costs were passed on to shoppers, widening the case beyond advertisers to consumer harm.