FTC lawsuit alleges Amazon has been ‘secretly and systematically’ overcharging for ads

Illustration of Amazon’s logo on a black, orange, and tan background.

The FTC and 22 state attorneys general are suing Amazon for allegedly using a « secret ad surcharge » to drive up prices for ads on its website and app. FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson claims in a blog post on the lawsuit that the higher advertising prices « were largely passed on to American consumers. » According to the complaint, Amazon violated the FTC Act and over a dozen state laws. This lawsuit comes almost a year after Amazon agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle an earlier FTC lawsuit over Prime subscription practices.

In Amazon’s « second price » auctions for ads on its platform, the winning bidder is supposed to only pay one cent more tha …

Read the full story at The Verge.

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