,i  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #edii  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #af1 #bjad
 ,mr4 ,swalwell of ,california 7for     
himself1 ,mr4 ,sherman1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 and
 ,mr4 ,crdenas7 introduced the following
 bill2 which was referred to the        
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce  ,a 
,,bill  ,to prohibit contracts that     
prohibit consumers from making certain  
public comments on businesses4  #a4     
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,consumer ,review ,freedom ,act of  
#bjad4  #b4 ,protecting consumer speech 
7a7 ,prohibition ,a provision of a form 
contract is void from the inception of  
such contract if said provision--  7#a7 
prohibits or restricts the ability of a 
person who is a party to the form       
contract to engage in a covered         
communication2  7#b7 imposes a penalty  
or fee against a person who is a party  
to the form contract for engaging in a  
covered communication2 or  7#c7 assigns 
or provides an exclusive license1 or    

requires a person who is a party to the 
form contract to assign or provide an   
exclusive license1 to any business1     
other person1 or entity any intellectual
 property rights that such party to the 
form contract has or may have in a      
covered communication4  7b7 ,rule of    
construction ,nothing in subsection 7a7 
shall be construed to affect--  7#a7 any
 duty of confidentiality imposed by law 
7including agency guidance72 or  7#b7   
any civil action for defamation1 libel1 
or slander1 or any similar cause of     
action4  7c7 ,exceptions ,subsection 7a7
 shall not apply to the extent that a   
provision of a form contract prohibits  
disclosure of the following3  7#a7      
,trade secrets or commercial or         
financial information obtained from a   
person and privileged or confidential4  
7#b7 ,personnel and medical files and   
similar files the disclosure of which   
would constitute a clearly unwarranted  
invasion of personal privacy4  7#c7     
,records or information compiled for law

 enforcement purposes1 the disclosure of
 which would constitute a clearly       
unwarranted invasion of personal        
privacy4  7d7 ,unlawful conduct ,it     
shall be unlawful for a business to     
offer or enter into a form contract     
containing a provision described as void
 in subsection 7a74  7e7 ,enforcement by
 ,federal ,trade ,commission  7#a7      
,unfair or deceptive acts or practices  
,a violation of subsection 7d7 shall be 
treated as a violation of a regulation  
under section #ah7;a77#a77;,b7 of the   
,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae   
,u4,s4,c4 #eg;a7a77#a77;,b77 regarding  
unfair or deceptive acts or practices4  
7#b7 ,powers of commission ,the ,federal
 ,trade ,commission shall enforce this  
section in the same manner1 by the same 
means1 and with the same jurisdiction1  
powers1 and duties as though all        
applicable terms and provisions of the  
,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae   
,u4,s4,c4 #da et seq47 were incorporated
 into and made a part of this ,act4 ,any

 person who violates this section or a  
regulation promulgated under this       
section shall be subject to the         
penalties and entitled to the privileges
 and immunities provided in the ,federal
 ,trade ,commission ,act4  7f7 ,state   
enforcement ,the attorney general of a  
,state may file an action to enforce    
subsection 7d7 seeking appropriate      
relief4 ,in any case in which the       
attorney general of a ,state has reason 
to believe that an interest of the      
residents of that ,state has been or is 
threatened or adversely affected by the 
engagement of any person in a practice  
that violates any regulation of the     
,commission prescribed under this       
section1 the ,state1 as parens patriae1 
may bring a civil action on behalf of   
the residents of the ,state in a        
district court of the ,united ,states of
 appropriate jurisdiction to seek       
appropriate relief4  7g7 ,definitions   
7#a7 ,the term person means a natural   
person4  7#b7 ,the term business means a

 legal entity organized to accomplish a 
business purpose1 including either      
for-profit or not-for-profit4  7#c7 ,the
 term form contract means a standardized
 contract used by a business and imposed
 on a party without a meaningful        
opportunity for said party to negotiate 
the standardized terms1 but does not    
include a contract establishing an      
employer-employee or independent        
contractor relationship4  7#d7 ,the term
 covered communication means a person's 
written1 verbal1 or pictorial review1   
performance assessment of1 or other     
similar analysis of1 the products1      
services1 or conduct of a business which
 is a party to the form contract4  7#e7 
,the term written includes words        
provided by electronic means4  7#f7 ,the
 term verbal includes speech provided by
 electronic means4  7#g7 ,the term      
pictorial includes pictures1            
photographs1 and video provided by      
electronic means4  7h7 ,effective dates 
7#a7 ,subsections 7a71 7b71 7c71 7d71   

and 7g7 shall apply to any contracts in 
effect on or after date of enactment4   
7#b7 ,subsections 7e7 and 7f7 shall     
apply to any contracts in effect on or  
after one year after date of enactment4 
#c4 ,relation to ,state causes of action
 ,nothing in this ,act shall be         
construed to affect any cause of action 
brought by a person that exists or may  
exist under ,state law4