Washington joins FTC lawsuit alleging Amazon inflated ad pricing

Washington joins FTC lawsuit alleging Amazon inflated ad pricing FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug 31 2026 atgAshleyGross Mon, 08/31/2026 - 12:27 A new lawsuit filed today by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 22 states, including Washington, alleges that Amazon has for years artificially inflated the prices of ads on its e-commerce platform and misrepresented how the company sets ad prices. “Many small business owners in Washington rely on Amazon for their livelihoods, and our office is committed to making sure Amazon treats them fairly, transparently, and in accordance with the law.” Attorney General Nick Brown said. The bipartisan coalition of plaintiffs alleges Amazon has imposed undisclosed surcharges on its advertising customers, which include more than 500,000 small- and medium-sized businesses that participated in auctions for advertising placements on Amazon.com and its mobile app. In Washington, there were about 10,000 independent sellers on Amazon’s platform as of 2023, according to the company’s Small Business Empowerment Report . Businesses buy ads on Amazon to have their products prominently displayed to shoppers. For years, Amazon told businesses that ads on its platfor