The US Federal Trade Commission and 22 states have filed a lawsuit against Amazon, claiming the company manipulated ad pricing through its auction system, allegedly overcharging advertisers by $20 billion since 2019. The complaint accuses Amazon of overriding auction results to boost profits, charging advertisers their winning bids more often than expected.
Amazon has denied these allegations, asserting that the FTC misunderstands its advertising model. Following the lawsuit announcement, Amazon's shares dropped by 2.5%.