The US’s main trade regulator and 22 states sued Amazon on Monday, alleging the online retailer “secretly and systematically overcharged” advertisers on Amazon.com.

“Amazon has millions of advertising customers who were misled into paying significantly higher prices. These higher costs were largely passed on to American consumers,” said Andrew Ferguson, the FTC chair.

The agency accused the company of taking in $20bn from the “hidden surcharges”. Amazon’s advertising business has grown significantly in recent years, becoming the third-largest online advertising marketplace after Google and Meta.

More details soon …