Amazon is sued by the FTC and 22 states for 'secretly' overcharging advertisers since 2019

Source: Engadget Amazon has been sued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 22 states over its handling of advertising auctions.

The company has made billions of dollars by "secretly" inflating its rates for more than six years, according to a statement from the FTC.

The regulator alleges that Amazon for years deceived its advertisers by adding "hidden" surcharges to its ad auctions, which resulted in ad buyers unknowingly overpaying for sponsored product placements and other ads on Amazon's platform. The lawsuit alleges that the practice was well-known within the retail giant, even after "multiple" employees raised the issue.

The "scheme has likely illegally extracted over 20 billion dollars from its unwitting advertising customers," the lawsuit alleges.