New Delhi, Sept. 1 -- The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), joined by 22 US states, has sued Amazon.com, alleging the e-commerce giant systematically overcharged advertisers by secretly inflating prices in its advertising auctions.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday (August 31) in federal court in Seattle, claims Amazon since 2019 has "secretly and systematically overcharged" about 1.2 million advertising customers.

The FTC and state attorneys general allege the company failed to adequately disclose how it set prices for sponsored listings that appear prominently when shoppers search Amazon's marketplace.

According to the complaint, Amazon secretly raised auction prices for three advertising products - Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands a...