“A Significant Disconnect”: SBE Council Statement on the FTC’s Ad Practices Lawsuit Against Amazon

By SBE Council at 1 September, 2026, 2:48 pm

For Immediate Release

Washington, D.C. – The following statement regarding the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and twenty-two state Attorneys General lawsuit filed against Amazon on ad pricing practices can be attributed to Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) President & CEO Karen Kerrigan:

“The FTC’s latest lawsuit against Amazon raises serious allegations, including sweeping claims of harm to small business sellers and consumers. From the perspective of small sellers, there appears to be a significant disconnect between the government’s portrayal of the Amazon marketplace and the actual experience and economic outcomes reported by entrepreneurs who use the platform.

“Regulators are acting and speaking on behalf of small sellers who, when we survey them and engage with them, report a far different story.  SBE Council has consistently surveyed small businesses about the digital platforms and tools they use, including Amazon, and the results simply do not reflect a marketplace where small sellers broadly believe they are being exploited or harmed. The complaint appears to place extraordinary weight on selected employee communications within Amazon, which needs to be fully examined and weighed against the complete economic and marketplace record.

“In our 2025 Small Business Technology Use Survey, for example, 92% of Amazon small sellers said the company’s pricing was fair and 86% said Amazon provided significant support to small sellers. Our 2026 survey produced similarly strong results: 98% said Amazon’s pricing structure is fair and allows them to compete, while 94% said the company provides significant platform support for small sellers. Moreover, 66% reported that their profit margins on Amazon were higher than on other sales channels, and another 23% said their margins were about the same.

“These are savvy entrepreneurs making decisions about where to market and sell their products with their own money. They have numerous options for where to sell and advertise, and most operate across multiple channels. Their continued use of Amazon, high satisfaction levels and reported business outcomes are important marketplace evidence that regulators should not dismiss.

“There are other important facts that deserve examination as this case proceeds. Amazon reports that the inflation-adjusted average cost-per-click for Sponsored Products remained essentially flat from 2019 through 2024, even as conversion rates improved substantially. If the government’s theory is that Amazon systematically imposed enormous additional costs on advertisers that ultimately harmed small businesses and consumers, actual pricing, performance, return-on-investment and marketplace data should be central to proving that case.

“The FTC’s complaint relies heavily on selected internal communications to characterize Amazon’s motives and advertising practices. Internal documents can certainly be relevant evidence, but isolated statements from employees should not substitute for a comprehensive examination of how the advertising marketplace actually functioned, what advertisers actually paid, the results those advertisements generated, and how businesses responded over time.

“There is also an important distinction between whether Amazon adequately explained the mechanics of a complex advertising auction and whether small businesses were economically harmed by the system. Those are not necessarily the same question. If disclosures were inadequate, that issue should be examined on its merits. But claims of massive economic harm require evidence of massive economic harm. The billions in economic harm alleged in the lawsuit cannot simply be inferred from selected internal emails.

“Small businesses increasingly depend on affordable digital tools, advertising platforms and marketplaces to reach customers and compete with much larger companies. Government enforcement should protect entrepreneurs from genuine fraud and anticompetitive conduct. At the same time, enforcement actions must be grounded in marketplace realities and should recognize the enormous value that technology platforms can provide to small firms.

“For SBE Council, the experiences of small business owners are important in these matters, as judgements or remedies can often upend a marketplace that is working for small businesses, raise prices, remove choices and create more friction, and undermine innovation. Our research consistently finds that small sellers view Amazon as a valuable business partner and competitive tool. As this lawsuit moves forward, policymakers, regulators and the courts should examine the complete economic record rather than assume that small business sellers have been harmed when the small business owners themselves overwhelmingly report a far different experience.”

CONTACT:

KAREN KERRIGAN, kkerrigan@sbecouncil.org

SBE Council is a nonpartisan advocacy, research and education organization dedicated to protecting small business and promoting entrepreneurship. For more than 30 years, SBE Council has advanced a range of private sector and public policy initiatives to strengthen the ecosystem for strong startup activity and small business growth.

Visit www.sbecouncil.org for additional information. X: @SBECouncil

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