US Federal Trade Commission, 22 US states sue Amazon over allegedly illegal advertising practices

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 22 US states have filed a lawsuit against Amazon, alleging the company illegally inflated advertising prices for businesses. The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in the Western District of Washington state, claims Amazon systematically raised the minimum price for ads without advertisers' knowledge, costing them an estimated $20 billion or more. The FTC stated, "Amazon has been able to generate billions of dollars in profits - at the expense of its auction advertising customers." Amazon denied the allegations in a blog post, asserting its advertising policies prioritize relevant ads and that the average cost per click remained flat from 2019 to 2024 while sales from clicks increased. Amazon stated, "Amazon's approach to pricing contradicts any suggestion of consumer harm." This follows a previous settlement in September where Amazon paid $2.5 billion to resolve FTC allegations of deceiving customers into Prime subscriptions.