FTC and States Challenge Amazon Advertising Auction Practices

The FTC and 22 states reportedly allege Amazon secretly raised advertising auction minimums, manipulated or concealed second-place bids, and overcharged roughly 1.2 million advertisers by more than $20 billion. The claims remain unproven, but the case creates major Section 5 and state-UDAP exposure around auction transparency, pricing representations, algorithm governance, advertiser disclosures, and potential restitution.