Amazon's Ad Scandal Exposes a Larger Problem: Corporate Manipulation of Market Forces The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 22 states have filed a lawsuit against Amazon, alleging that the company secretly charged businesses more for advertising on its platform.
The complaint claims that over seven years, Amazon increased ad prices through online auctions, affecting over 1 million brands and sellers and potentially generating tens of billions of dollars in additional revenue.
The alleged scheme involves Amazon's Sponsored Products ads, Sponsored Brands ads, and Display ads, which appear alongside search results.