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FTC and 22 states sue Amazon for allegedly hiding surcharges in ad auctions since 2019
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The FTC and 22 states sued Amazon, alleging the company secretly inflated advertising rates by adding hidden surcharges to ad auctions since 2019, extracting over $20 billion from advertisers.
For advertisers on Amazon, this lawsuit claims the platform's ad auction pricing lacked transparency, with undisclosed reserve prices causing systematic overpayment. If proven, it could force changes to how Amazon discloses auction pricing and result in significant financial penalties or restitution.
Written by elseif from the cluster below · every claim links back to a sourceThe three things worth knowing
The FTC and 22 states allege Amazon added hidden surcharges to ad auctions, causing advertisers to unknowingly overpay since 2019.
Internal Amazon documents reportedly acknowledged that undisclosed reserve prices increased short-term revenue but would 'hurt us in the long run.'
Amazon disputes the claims, stating the lawsuit 'fundamentally misunderstands' how advertising auctions work and cites no evidence of consumer harm.
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