An article summarized by CNBC:

The Federal Trade Commission, joined by 22 state attorneys general, has sued Amazon, accusing the company of secretly overcharging advertisers through its advertising auction and pricing systems. The lawsuit alleges that Amazon introduced hidden surcharges after changing its auction rules in 2019 and may have collected more than $20 billion in excess advertising fees. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson argued that those higher advertising costs were ultimately passed on to American consumers.

Amazon strongly denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit “misguided” and arguing that the FTC misunderstands how its advertising auctions work. The company said it provides advertisers with information about pricing and auction systems and claimed its technology actually saved advertisers roughly $8 billion between 2021 and 2025. Amazon also said the FTC failed to provide evidence that its advertising practices led to higher consumer prices.

The case is the latest in a series of major legal battles between Amazon and the FTC. Amazon generated more than $68 billion in advertising revenue last year, making it the world’s third-largest digital advertising business behind Google and Meta. The company previously reached a $2.5 billion settlement with the FTC over allegations involving its Prime program and is also facing a separate antitrust case accusing it of using monopoly power to raise prices, hurt third-party sellers, and weaken competition, claims Amazon continues to deny.

For the article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/31/amazon-ftc-lawsuit-advertisers.html