Florida AG Joins FTC, 21 States in Lawsuit Against Amazon Over Alleged Advertising Surcharge Scheme
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, alongside the Federal Trade Commission and 21 other states, has filed a lawsuit against Amazon. The suit alleges that Amazon engaged in a secret scheme to inflate advertising surcharges for businesses.
Oklahoma City, OK, September 19, 2026 —
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on [Date Not Provided] that he has joined the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and attorneys general from 21 other states in filing a lawsuit against e-commerce giant Amazon.
The multi-state legal action, also involving the FTC, centers on allegations that Amazon orchestrated a covert strategy to increase advertising fees charged to businesses that sell products on its platform. This scheme, according to the suit, resulted in inflated surcharges for these businesses.
Details regarding the specific nature of the alleged “secret scheme” and how it functioned to inflate surcharges were not immediately available in the provided summary. Similarly, the exact date the lawsuit was filed and the specific court where it was lodged have not been disclosed.
The coalition of state attorneys general and the FTC contend that Amazon’s alleged actions harmed businesses by increasing their operational costs through artificially high advertising surcharges. The complaint reportedly outlines how these surcharges may have impacted the pricing of goods and competition within the marketplace.
The contractor’s name (Amazon) and the number of other states involved (21) are explicitly mentioned. However, the specific names of the other attorneys general leading the suit, the total number of plaintiffs beyond Florida, the Federal Trade Commission, and the 21 other states, were not provided in the trend summary.
Further details concerning the timeline of the alleged scheme, the specific types of businesses affected, any permit status issues, inspection outcomes, code violations, or specific fine amounts are also absent from the information provided. Any potential penalties or remedies sought in the lawsuit have not been detailed.
Amazon’s response to the lawsuit has not been made public according to the summary.
Story summarized from the original created by Black Chronicle News Service on blackchronicle.com, see more information here.
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