The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and more than 20 state attorneys general are filing a lawsuit against Amazon.com in a Seattle federal court. The suit alleges the company unlawfully generated billions of dollars by manipulating advertising prices on its retail platform over a seven-year period.
The FTC claims Amazon deceived advertisers by secretly raising minimum prices for ad placements. This strategy shift allegedly began in 2018 when Amazon altered its ad auction process to increase costs for businesses.
The legal action marks the third significant case brought by the consumer-protection agency against the e-commerce giant.