RismadarVoice Reporters
August 31, 2026
Amazon.com has been sued by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 22 states over allegations that the company manipulated advertising prices, increasing costs for businesses that promote products on its platform.
The FTC, in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington state, alleged that Amazon secretly raised minimum prices required for advertisers to place product promotions, inflating auction costs without their knowledge.
The agency claimed the practices caused advertisers to lose billions of dollars, with damages estimated at more than $20 billion.
“Amazon has been able to generate billions of dollars in profits at the expense of its auction advertising customers,” the FTC said in its filing.
Amazon rejected the allegations, saying its advertising system is designed to show shoppers relevant products and that its pricing practices do not harm customers or advertisers.
The company said the average cost per click for advertisers remained stable between 2019 and 2024, while sales generated from those clicks increased.
The lawsuit is the latest legal challenge facing the e-commerce giant after it reached a $2.5 billion settlement with the FTC last year over separate allegations involving its Prime subscription practices.
Amazon shares fell about 3% in afternoon trading following news of the lawsuit.
