FTC and 22 States: Amazon Quietly Raised Ad Auction Prices by up to 250%
The FTC and 22 states have dropped new antitrust allegations against Amazon in Washington federal court, claiming the company secretly hiked online search ad auction prices by as much as 250%. The agency says the move was meant to add $87 million in worldwide revenue.
The Federal Trade Commission and 22 states have piled fresh allegations onto their antitrust case against Amazon, accusing the company of quietly jacking up prices in its online search advertising auctions to fatten its own bottom line.
According to Law360, the new details claim Amazon secretly raised ad auction prices by as much as 250% — a move the agency says was aimed at adding $87 million in revenue worldwide.
The claims surfaced in Washington federal court on November 5, 2026, where the sprawling antitrust fight over Amazon's ad auctions is playing out. The case targets the auctions that decide which ads shoppers see when they search on Amazon.
The $87 million figure and the 250% spike are the headline numbers in the new filing, which paints the price hikes as something Amazon didn't disclose to advertisers. The FTC and the states say the increases were made to boost revenue.
Amazon's search advertising business sits at the center of the dispute, and the states' involvement — 22 of them — signals how wide the fight has spread. The case remains pending in Washington federal court.
TopicsFTC · Amazon · Law360 · Washington federal court
Source: law360.com
Written by Paparazzi with AI. Not financial advice.
More stories
- E-commercecryptopolitan.com1viewZipline banks $1.5B, valuation nearly triples as Walmart drone plans balloon
- E-commercetechcrunch.com1viewTikTok quietly drops a standalone Shop app in four Asian markets
- E-commercefinance.yahoo.com0viewsAmazon's cloud crushes it, and Wall Street still dumps the stock
- E-commercebreakingthenews.net0viewsDoorDash sinks 13% as investors balk at $17B Instacart buyout