Consumers Affected
500,000
On August 31, 2026, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the Division of Consumer Affairs joined the FTC and a bipartisan coalition of 21 other states in suing Amazon, alleging that for over seven years the company secretly rigged its advertising auctions—converting advertised 'second price' auctions into first-price auctions with hidden 'soft reserve price' surcharges—overcharging more than 500,000 small- and medium-sized businesses and extracting tens of billions of dollars. The complaint alleges Amazon actively concealed the surcharges, gave false and misleading answers to advertisers who asked directly about the auction format, and applied inflated upcharges on high-volume shopping days like Prime Day and Black Friday. The lawsuit was just filed; no penalties or remedies have been imposed yet.
No remedies have been imposed yet—the coalition filed its complaint on August 31, 2026. The lawsuit alleges tens of billions of dollars in illegal overcharges extracted from advertisers; any monetary penalties, restitution, or injunctive relief would be determined as the litigation proceeds.
In-house teams that purchase digital advertising—particularly under Amazon Ads agreements (Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Display Ads) or similar platform terms with Google, Meta, or other ad marketplaces—should review advertising services agreements, media buying contracts, and incorporated platform policies for pricing methodology representations (e.g., 'second price auction' or generalized second-price/GSP descriptions), fee schedule and surcharge disclosure clauses, and notice requirements for pricing or auction-rule changes. Key clauses to scrutinize include representations and warranties about how ad prices are set, pass-through surcharge provisions, competitive-pricing representations, audit and billing verification rights, refund or credit remedies for overbilling, and amendment/change-notice mechanics that would let a platform alter pricing unilaterally. Companies that resell advertising services or pass ad costs to customers (agencies, marketplace sellers, retail media partners) should also review customer contracts' cost pass-through and pricing transparency provisions, since inflated platform fees may have flowed downstream, and procurement should preserve bid logs and invoices to quantify potential overcharges.
Entity
Amazon
Industry
TechnologyOfficial Press Release
https://www.njoag.gov/ag-davenport-sues-amazon-with-ftc-and-21-states-for-rigging-advertising-auctions-reaping-billions-in-illegal-profits/
2026 0831 Amazon Advertising Complaint redacted
http://www.njoag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2026-0831_Amazon-Advertising-Complaint-redacted.pdf
New Jersey Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://www.njoag.gov/about/divisions-and-offices/division-of-consumer-affairs/
"in a lawsuit against Amazon alleging that, for over seven years, the e-commerce tech giant secretly and systematically overcharged its advertisers"
"For Immediate Release: August 31, 2026"
"Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) joined the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)"
"joined the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a bipartisan coalition of 21 other states in a lawsuit against Amazon"
"Amazon changed its auction rules without notice by adding an undisclosed surcharge that Amazon referred to internally as a “soft reserve price.”"
"including over 500,000 small- and medium-sized businesses"
A multistate coalition co-led by New Jersey won a federal court order rejecting the Trump Administration’s decision not to request funding for the CFPB. The order struck down that decision and directed the Administration to follow the law and fund the agency; no monetary penalty or privacy violation is described.
New Jersey’s Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs alerted the public that three synthetic kratom-related compounds became illegal to possess or sell in the state under a temporary federal scheduling order. The release describes a controlled-substance alert, not a privacy enforcement action, and identifies no company, privacy violation, or monetary penalty.
$2.3M
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings agreed to pay $2,287,455 to participating states and strengthen its security and vendor-management practices following an investigation into the 2019 breach at its debt-collection vendor, AMCA. The breach potentially exposed information of more than 27.5 million people nationwide, including sensitive information belonging to approximately 10.2 million LabCorp patients.
$694.0M
New Jersey's Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs, along with 41 Attorneys General, reached a $694 million settlement with subprime auto lender Credit Acceptance Corporation over allegations it originated unaffordable loans its own systems predicted borrowers could not repay, employed aggressive debt-collection tactics, and failed to prevent deceptive vehicle-service contract and GAP product 'packing' by dealers. The multistate settlement stepped in after the CFPB permanently dropped its 2023 enforcement action against CAC in 2025. CAC will provide $60 million in cash restitution, $634 million in debt relief, an additional $15 million to the states, and implement injunctive lending reforms including loan off ramps, pre-loan disclosures, add-on packing safeguards, and a seven-year vehicle price cap. Note: this is a consumer-protection lending enforcement action, not a privacy matter; violation categories are best-fit mappings from the available taxonomy.
$650K
The New Jersey Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs announced that Match Group, Inc. will pay $650,000 and change its business practices to settle allegations that it misrepresented or failed to disclose its criminal background screening policies and practices to New Jersey users, violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and the Internet Dating Safety Act. Under a Consent Order, Match must accurately represent its screening policies, notify existing New Jersey members of updated disclosures within 150 days, and post clear and conspicuous disclosures and safety notifications about the limitations of criminal background screenings.
$96.5M
New Jersey and a coalition of states and territories obtained preliminary approval for a plan to distribute funds from settlements with generic drug manufacturers accused of conspiring to raise drug prices. The settlements total approximately $96.5 million, and eligible consumers may submit claims for compensation.