The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 22 U.S. states filed a lawsuit against Amazon alleging that the company has secretly and systematically overcharged its approximately 1.2 million advertising customers since 2019 by manipulating the auctions that set ad prices. ^[1] Wall Street indices closed lower on Monday as rising oil prices increased investor concerns about a potential escalation in the conflict between the United States and Iran. ^[2] The FTC alleges that starting in 2019, Amazon made a 'surreptitious' change to its ad auctions by adding a hidden surcharge internally called a 'soft reserve price' and using an 'invented auction participant' to push prices higher than true competition would have produced. ^[3] The lawsuit alleges that Amazon changed the mechanics of its ad bidding scheme without properly informing advertisers, using an 'invented auction participant' to push prices higher instead of charging winning bidders one cent more than the second-place bidder. ^[4] The FTC said it obtained internal documents and messages that reveal how Amazon secretly inflated auction prices for these sponsored ad types. ^[5] The lawsuit specifically alleges that Amazon overrode and replaced the actual auction results with higher prices set by Amazon to increase its profits. ^[6] The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%, or 373 points, to close at 53,186 units, according to MarketWatch. ^[7] The US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that US forces attacked Iranian ships dedicated to laying mines, which they considered an imminent threat to navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. ^[8] West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices rose 2.7% to $85.65 per barrel, while Brent crude advanced 2.5% to $90.30 per barrel. ^[9] According to the FTC, Amazon told more than 500,000 small and medium-sized businesses that it ran a 'second-price' auction where the winning advertiser would pay just one cent more than the next-highest bid, which the FTC alleges was not true after the change. ^[10] The FTC claims the alleged practice affected more than one million brands and sellers and may have generated tens of billions of dollars in additional revenue for Amazon over seven years. ^[11] Amazon responded in a blog post, describing the FTC's case as 'misguided,' arguing that the FTC misunderstood how its ad auctions work, and asserting that soft reserve prices are a normal industry practice. ^[12]