Attorney General Hilgers joins states and FTC in lawsuit against Amazon for discreetly overcharging small businesses

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Today, Attorney General Mike Hilgers announced that he joined 22 states and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in suing Amazon.

The lawsuit alleges that Amazon secretly and purposefully raised prices in its online search advertising auctions. It claims that the raising of prices expands over seven years for more than one million brands and sellers.

It alleges that Amazon imposed surcharges on over 500,000 small and medium-sized businesses.

According to Hilgers, the alleged scheme allowed Amazon to overcharge and increase prices for advertisers without any detection, with Amazon leadership allegedly giving false information knowingly.