{ "story_id": "1c8698ade72717a894ac5ccde6c2fa4b", "desk": "drm3", "revision": 1, "published_at": "2026-09-01T18:21:19.000Z", "content_hash": "c90e83bf092a54bf957d69be65b9f735e3f7aa01f5ad53c202b67f917de0ddb8", "hash_basis": "sha256 over `headline\\ndek\\nprose`, plus `\\n` + the canonical citations JSON when any source is placed, plus `\\n#blog` for blogs", "basis": { "headline": "FTC sues Amazon, alleging $20 billion in hidden surcharges for advertisers", "dek": "The FTC filed a lawsuit against Amazon on July 8, 2025, accusing it of overcharging advertisers by more than $20 billion through hidden surcharges.", "prose": "The Federal Trade Commission alleged on 2025-07-08 that Amazon \"secretly and systematically overcharged\" advertisers by manipulating its pricing and auction systems. [^1]\n\nThe complaint alleges that Amazon 'secretly and systematically overcharged' its 1.2 million advertiser clients by manipulating the auctions that determine online ad prices. [^2]\n\nThe US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 22 US states filed a federal lawsuit in Seattle against Amazon, accusing the company of secretly inflating online advertising prices. [^3]\n\nThe lawsuit alleges that Amazon deceived advertisers. [^4]\n\nThe FTC alleges that Amazon secretly and systematically manipulated advertising prices charged to businesses, collecting billions of dollars in overpayments over a seven-year period. [^5]\n\nThe FTC and the states alleged that Amazon systematically inflated advertising auction prices without the knowledge of advertisers, costing them over $20 billion. [^6]\n\nThe Federal Trade Commission claims that Amazon may have reaped more than $20 billion from advertisers through \"hidden surcharges\" that began with a 2019 change to its auction rules. [^7]\n\nAmazon rejected the allegations as 'misguided' and asserted that an advertiser never pays more than the amount of its bid for ads. [^8]\n\nThe complaint further claims that Amazon extracted more than $20 billion from unaware advertiser clients through the alleged overcharging. [^9]\n\nThe Wall Street Journal reported on the FTC's planned legal action. [^10]\n\nThe Federal Trade Commission claims Amazon illegally gained over $20 billion from 'unwitting advertising customers' over a seven-year period. [^11]\n\nApproximately one year before this lawsuit, Amazon agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle an earlier FTC lawsuit over its Prime subscription practices. 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