US trade regulator and 22 states accuse Amazon of taking $20bn with secret surcharges
Summary
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 22 states sued Amazon, accusing it of secretly overcharging advertisers by more than $20 billion through hidden fees. The regulators say these extra charges increased the cost of many products for customers. Amazon denies the claims and calls the lawsuit wrong.Key Facts
- The FTC and 22 states filed a lawsuit against Amazon on allegations of overcharging advertisers.
- The overcharges come from secret fees in Amazon’s advertising auction system.
- The alleged extra charges totaled more than $20 billion since 2019.
- About 1.2 million advertisers, including over 500,000 small and medium businesses, were affected.
- Amazon’s advertising business is the third largest online, after Google and Meta, with over $68 billion in revenue.
- Regulators say Amazon used “second-price auctions” but manipulated the process by adding fake bids to raise prices.
- Amazon denies the accusations and claims it offers low prices across many products.
- The lawsuit seeks to stop Amazon’s alleged unfair practices, fines, and refunds to advertisers.
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