Amazon may face penalties from potential FTC ad suit, Bloomberg News reports

Amazon may face penalties from potential FTC ad suit, Bloomberg News reports Amazon Delivering the Future EMEA 2026 event · Reuters Reuters Tue, June 16, 2026 at 10:36 PM GMT+2 1 min read AMZN GOOG June 16 (Reuters) - Amazon. com may face a U. S.

Federal Trade Commission lawsuit that could result in ‌civil penalties, following allegations that the e-commerce ‌giant misled advertisers, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. The FTC has a ​possible complaint against Amazon as part of an ongoing probe, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Several state attorneys general are also participating.

More from Yahoo Scout What penalties might Amazon face from FTC lawsuit? What was Amazon's previous FTC settlement about? What FTC allegations is Amazon currently facing?

How could Amazon's advertising practices violate disclosure rules? The agency has been ‌investigating whether Amazon ⁠and Alphabet's Google misled advertisers that place ads on their websites, Reuters reported last ⁠year. The investigations are being conducted by the FTC's consumer protection unit, and focus on whether Amazon and Alphabet properly ​disclosed terms ​and pricing for ads.

The ​FTC is seeking details ‌about Amazon's advertising auctions and whether it disclosed "reserve pricing" for some search ads. Reserve pricing refers to the minimum price advertisers must accept before they can buy an ad. The agency may wrap up the probe either ‌through a lawsuit or settlement ​as soon as this summer, ​according to Bloomberg.

The ​FTC declined to comment, while Amazon did ‌not immediately respond when contacted ​by Reuters. The e-commerce ​giant in September agreed to pay $2. 5 billion in fines and reimbursements to Prime subscribers to settle ​FTC's allegations that ‌it deceived its customers to generate subscriptions.