TECH NEWS

FTC lawsuit alleges Amazon has been ‘secretly and systematically’ overcharging for ads

Amazon responded saying the FTC’s claim “fundamentally misunderstands how advertisers behave.”

by Stevie Bonifield

Aug 31, 2026, 9:41 PM UTC

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Stevie Bonifield is a news writer covering all things consumer tech. Stevie started out at Laptop Mag writing news and reviews on hardware, gaming, and AI.

The FTC and 22 state attorneys general are suing Amazon for allegedly using a “secret ad surcharge” to drive up prices for ads on its website and app. FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson claims in a blog post on the lawsuit that the higher advertising prices “were largely passed on to American consumers.” According to the complaint, Amazon violated the FTC Act and over a dozen state laws. This lawsuit comes almost a year after Amazon agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle an earlier FTC lawsuit over Prime subscription practices.

In Amazon’s “second price” auctions for...

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Paramount settles lawsuit blocking $110 billion Warner Bros. merger

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Hideo Kojima Details Sony's Cold Breakup Call Over Zoom That Pushed Him To Xbox

It’s only been about two weeks since Hideo Kojima rocked the gaming world with the announcement that the much anticipated Physint, which is the successor to the iconic Metal Gear series, would now be happening in collaboration with Microsoft instead of Sony. In an interview with IGN, Kojima provided

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Dyson Won't Say What's Wrong With Its CameraJet Toothbrush

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Hyundai’s answer to the EV slowdown is building tens of thousands of robotaxis

Hyundai will build tens of thousands of Ioniq 5 robotaxis for Waymo at its plant in Georgia, chief executive Jose Munoz said, calling robotaxis the biggest new opportunity inside a slowing electric market. In Europe the only type approval route that works across the whole union for a fully automated

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Paramount settles lawsuit blocking $110 billion Warner Bros. merger

Hideo Kojima Details Sony's Cold Breakup Call Over Zoom That Pushed Him To Xbox

Dyson Won't Say What's Wrong With Its CameraJet Toothbrush

Hyundai’s answer to the EV slowdown is building tens of thousands of robotaxis