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US regulator and 22 states accuse Amazon of manipulating ad auctions in lawsuit
🇯🇲 Jamaica /Economy & Trade

US regulator and 22 states accuse Amazon of manipulating ad auctions in lawsuit

From Jamaica Observer · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Official statement In the courts
  • The FTC and 22 US states accused Amazon of manipulating auctions for Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display advertising.
  • The lawsuit alleges that the scheme overcharged roughly 1.2 million advertisers by more than $20 billion and began in 2018 without customer notice.
  • Amazon called the case misguided and flawed, while California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the company had rigged billions of dollars in ad auctions.

The US Federal Trade Commission and 22 states have taken Amazon to court over allegations that the company manipulated the auctions used to price digital advertising. The complaint says the conduct generated more than $20 billion in overcharges for about 1.2 million advertising customers.

has rigged billions of ad auctions

— Rob BontaCalifornia’s attorney general characterized the allegations against Amazon during remarks to reporters.

The case covers three Amazon products: Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display. Regulators allege that Amazon began secretly changing auction results in 2018 to raise ad prices, failed to notify customers and took steps to hide the changes.

The complaint cites internal documents referring to hidden surcharges. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Amazon “has rigged billions of ad auctions.” He described the case as a bipartisan effort, saying such cooperation “doesn’t happen all too often these days.”

doesn’t happen all too often these days

— Rob BontaBonta was describing the bipartisan cooperation among the states and the FTC.

Amazon rejected the allegations in a blog post, calling the lawsuit “misguided” and “flawed.” The company said regulators had “cherry-picked” outdated internal documents.

misguided

— AmazonThe company’s description of the lawsuit in a blog post.

The action is the FTC’s third major lawsuit against Amazon. In September 2025, Amazon agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle allegations that it used deceptive practices to enroll consumers in Amazon Prime and made cancellations difficult. A separate case accusing Amazon of illegally maintaining an online retail monopoly is scheduled to go to trial early next year.

flawed

— AmazonAmazon’s criticism of the lawsuit in its response.
About this summary

Originally published by Jamaica Observer in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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