Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that his office has joined 21 other state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission in a lawsuit against Amazon.com, Inc. over alleged deceptive and unfair practices involving advertising auctions on Amazon’s website and app.
The complaint alleges that Amazon secretly increased advertising prices for more than seven years, affecting more than one million brands and sellers, including businesses in Pennsylvania.
According to the complaint, Amazon allegedly replaced actual auction results with higher prices set by the company, increasing the amount advertisers paid and generating additional profits for Amazon. The lawsuit alleges the practices resulted in tens of billions of dollars in charges to advertisers.
The advertisements involved include Sponsored Product ads, Sponsored Brands ads and Display Ads that appear alongside Amazon product search results. Advertisers bid for placements tied to specific search keywords.
More than 14,000 independent sellers in Pennsylvania sell over 100 million items annually through Amazon, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
The complaint also alleges Amazon concealed the practices from advertisers and imposed fees and surcharges that were ultimately passed along to consumers through higher prices.
The lawsuit seeks restitution, penalties, costs and an injunction against Amazon for alleged violations of Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.
The case was filed Aug. 31, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Pennsylvania joined the FTC and attorneys general from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington.
