The FTC and 22 state attorneys general filed an updated complaint alleging that Amazon secretly added surcharges to advertising auction prices and misled advertisers about the reasons for price increases. The release describes newly unredacted allegations; it does not report a judgment, settlement, or monetary penalty.
No remedy or penalty is reported; the press release concerns allegations in an updated complaint.
Review customer and advertiser agreements for clear disclosures of auction mechanics, surcharges, pricing adjustments, and how cost-per-click charges are calculated, along with notice requirements for material pricing or process changes. In vendor and ad-platform agreements, check audit and reporting rights, records supporting charges, and remedies for undisclosed fees or inaccurate explanations of price changes. This release does not identify a privacy violation or impose privacy-related contract requirements.
Entity
Amazon.com, Inc.
Industry
AdvertisingOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/11/new-details-emerge-amazon-ads-auction-rigging-case
Amazon RedactedComplaint
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/Amazon-RedactedComplaint.pdf
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"The Federal Trade Commission and 22 states recently filed an updated version of their complaint against Amazon"
"Amazon’s alleged use of deceptive and unfair practices to secretly inflate prices in its online search advertising auction."
"The unredacted portions of the complaint allege that Amazon secretly raises advertising prices by as much as 50% above auction results on ordinary days and by as much as 250% on major shopping days like Prime Day or Black Friday."
"The attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington joined in filing the now-unredacted complaint."
$2.5B
A federal court approved a revised order in the FTC's Amazon Prime case under which Amazon will accelerate and expand redress payments under the September 2025 $2.5 billion settlement, which resolved allegations that Amazon enrolled millions of consumers in Prime subscriptions without their consent and knowingly made cancellation difficult. More consumers now qualify for refunds, the maximum payment cap rises from $51 to $200, and all future payments will be distributed automatically starting October 1, 2026, with potential supplemental $149 payments by April 2027. Amazon has already issued more than $845 million in redress payments as of September 2026.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser joined the FTC and 22 state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against Amazon for manipulating the auctions used to set advertising prices, replacing actual auction results with higher prices since 2019 and overcharging nearly 1.2 million U.S. advertising customers. The FTC estimates total improper surcharges from 2018 to 2026 exceed $20 billion, with costs ultimately passed to shoppers through higher prices. The states seek a permanent injunction and monetary relief; no penalty has been imposed yet as this is a newly filed complaint.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Amazon.com, Inc. on August 31, 2026, alleging Amazon deceived advertisers by claiming to run second-price auctions while secretly applying hidden surcharges and undisclosed 'soft reserve' prices that pushed winners' costs up by roughly 17% on ordinary days and more than 25% during peak events like Prime Day. The hidden surcharges generated roughly $4.5 billion in additional nationwide revenue in 2024, and more than 18,000 Texas sellers and vendors advertise on the platform. The State brings claims under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, seeking civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation, an injunction against inaccurate auction descriptions, and per-auction pricing records for every Texas advertiser; the FTC and a coalition of other states filed a parallel federal action the same day.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, joined by 21 other states and the FTC, sued Amazon for secretly overcharging its advertising customers more than $20 billion by submitting fake second-place bids to inflate ad auction prices since 2018. More than 1.2 million advertisers, including hundreds of thousands of small businesses, were allegedly overcharged. The coalition seeks a court order stopping the scheme plus penalties, restitution, and damages.
$1.0B
The FTC secured a $2.5 billion settlement with Amazon, including a $1 billion civil penalty and $1.5 billion in consumer refunds, for enrolling millions of consumers in Prime subscriptions without proper consent and designing a deliberately difficult cancellation process. The order requires Amazon to implement clear enrollment disclosures, an easy cancellation method, and cease the unlawful practices.
$25.0M
The FTC and DOJ charged Amazon with violating COPPA by indefinitely retaining children's Alexa voice recordings and failing to honor parents' deletion requests. Under a proposed consent decree, Amazon must pay $25 million, delete children's data, and implement privacy safeguards.