FTC and 22 States Sue Amazon Over $20 Billion in Hidden Ad-Auction Surcharges

The FTC and 22 state attorneys general sued Amazon on 31 August, alleging it secretly added a “soft reserve price” to its ad auctions from 2019 onward, causing advertisers to pay their full bid in about 80% of Sponsored Products auctions by 2024 and extracting more than $20 billion from over 1 million brands and sellers. Amazon called the case “misguided” and says its auction systems saved advertisers $8 billion between 2021 and 2025.