[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-ftc-sues-amazon-over-alleged-secret-ad-auction-surcharge":10,"sections":35},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":24,"tags":25,"sources":30,"feedback":34,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":34,"total_tokens":34},5945,"ftc-sues-amazon-over-alleged-secret-ad-auction-surcharge","FTC Sues Amazon Over Alleged Secret Ad Auction Surcharge","The FTC and 22 states say Amazon quietly padded ad auction prices, with the cost ultimately landing on shoppers.","The FTC says Amazon rigged its ad auctions to squeeze out extra profit - and stuck shoppers with the bill.\n\nThe FTC and attorneys general from 22 states sued Amazon on August 31, alleging the company ran a secret ad surcharge that inflated advertising prices on its website and app. The complaint centers on Amazon's second-price ad auctions, where the winning bidder is supposed to pay just one cent more than the next-highest bid - but Amazon allegedly charged more than that. FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson wrote in a blog post that the inflated ad costs \"were largely passed on to American consumers.\" The agency says the practice violates the FTC Act and more than a dozen state laws.\n\nAdvertising has become one of Amazon's most profitable businesses, and sellers who buy those placements tend to fold the cost into what they charge shoppers. If the FTC's math holds up, a pricing mechanism pitched as fair to advertisers turned into a quiet markup on everyday purchases. It's also the second major FTC case targeting Amazon's core business practices in under a year.\n\nAmazon already paid $2.5 billion last year to settle a separate FTC lawsuit over Prime sign-up and cancellation tactics - this one suggests regulators are still finding places to look.","[\"amazon\",\"ftc\",\"advertising\",\"antitrust\"]","2026-08-31T21:41:42.000Z","2026-08-31T23:48:34.397Z","2026-08-31T23:48:46.384Z","published",null,[],"policy",[26,27,28,29],"amazon","ftc","advertising","antitrust",[31],{"name":32,"url":33},"The Verge","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theverge.com\u002Ftech\u002F986982\u002Famazon-advertising-prices-ftc-lawsuit",0,{"sections":36},[37,42,47,51,56,61,66,71,76,81,86,91,96,101],{"name":38,"slug":39,"count":40,"latest_published_at":41},"AI","ai",3360,"2026-09-01T20:00:00.000Z",{"name":43,"slug":44,"count":45,"latest_published_at":46},"Security","security",517,"2026-09-01T21:20:00.000Z",{"name":48,"slug":24,"count":49,"latest_published_at":50},"Policy",260,"2026-09-01T18:19:26.000Z",{"name":52,"slug":53,"count":54,"latest_published_at":55},"Deals","deals",179,"2026-06-29T20:02:07.000Z",{"name":57,"slug":58,"count":59,"latest_published_at":60},"Hardware","hardware",151,"2026-09-01T14:42:22.000Z",{"name":62,"slug":63,"count":64,"latest_published_at":65},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",95,"2026-08-18T16:05:00.000Z",{"name":67,"slug":68,"count":69,"latest_published_at":70},"Science","science",91,"2026-08-20T10:01:48.000Z",{"name":72,"slug":73,"count":74,"latest_published_at":75},"Software","software",73,"2026-08-18T07:51:50.000Z",{"name":77,"slug":78,"count":79,"latest_published_at":80},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",69,"2026-08-18T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":82,"slug":83,"count":84,"latest_published_at":85},"Startups","startups",52,"2026-08-25T18:55:12.000Z",{"name":87,"slug":88,"count":89,"latest_published_at":90},"Gaming","gaming",41,"2026-07-09T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":92,"slug":93,"count":94,"latest_published_at":95},"General","general",34,"2026-09-01T13:28:43.000Z",{"name":97,"slug":98,"count":99,"latest_published_at":100},"Reviews","reviews",20,"2026-06-24T12:00:01.000Z",{"name":102,"slug":103,"count":104,"latest_published_at":105},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]