,i #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #igii ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #ba1 #bjbf,ms4 ,balint 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,velzquez1 ,mr4 ,carson1 ,mr4 ,garca of ,illinois1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,pennsylvania1 ,mrs4 ,foushee1 ,ms4 ,jayapal1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,georgia1 and ,ms4 ,simon7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to establish a bill of rights for third-party sellers on critical trading partners1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,online ,sellers' ,bill of ,rights ,act of #bjbf4 #b4 ,findings and purpose 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 small and independent businesses depend on dominant online marketplaces to access consumers and scale their operations2 7#b7 these platforms frequently exert outsized power over third-party sellers without sufficient transparency or due process2 and 7#c7 sellers face business risk from account suspensions1 inventory holds1 and withheld funds without timely notice or recourse4 7b7 ,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act is to provide due process and transparency protections to third-party sellers using critical trading partners1 while maintaining a fair and competitive online marketplace4 #c4 ,sellers' bill of rights 7a7 ,in general ,the ,federal ,trade ,commission shall adopt rules to promote fair terms between critical trading partners and online sellers taking into consideration public health1 safety1 and other factors that the ,commission deems relevant4 ,such rules shall include the following3 7#a7 ,inventory holds 7,a7 ,a critical trading partner shall not hold1 detain1 or restrict access to a seller's inventory for more than #cj calendar days4 7,b7 ,after such period1 the platform shall release the inventory unless it has met a legally valid standard of proof that the goods are counterfeit or otherwise unlawful4 7,c7 ,the platform shall notify the seller in writing of any inventory hold within #gb hours of the hold1 detailing the rationale and applicable appeal procedures4 7#b7 ,fund holds 7,a7 ,a critical trading partner shall not withhold disbursement of a seller's funds for more than #cj calendar days unless the platform demonstrates1 by a preponderance of evidence1 that the funds are derived from unlawful transactions4 7,b7 ,sellers must be notified in writing of any hold1 including the factual basis and opportunity for appeal4 7,c7 ,the platform shall notify the seller in writing of any frozen funds within #gb hours of the hold1 detailing the rationale and applicable procedures4 7#c7 ,gated products ,if a platform imposes a new restriction on a product or category after the product has been received into its fulfillment network1 the seller shall be allowed to sell through remaining inventory for a reasonable period of not less than #cj calendar days or have the inventory returned at no cost and release funds from sales of the product on the agreed upon schedule unless direct evidence exists that the product is counterfeit or unlawful4 7#d7 ,policy changes 7,a7 ,critical trading partners shall provide sellers with not less than #cj days' advance written notice of any material policy changes affecting-- 7i7 product eligibility2 7ii7 category or listing restrictions2 7iii7 compliance or documentation requirements2 or 7iv7 commission or fee structures4 7#e7 ,transparency in investigations 7,a7 ,if a seller is subject to investigation1 account deactivation1 or listing suspension1 the platform must provide-- 7i7 the specific policy or rule alleged to have been violated2 7ii7 the relevant facts1 reports1 or documentation2 7iii7 the proposed penalty2 and 7iv7 specific steps the seller may take to appeal or resolve the issue and an anticipated timeline for resolution of that appeal4 7,b7 ,generic or templated responses shall not satisfy these requirements4 7#f7 ,presumption of innocence 7,a7 ,no seller may be subject to suspension1 deactivation1 inventory withholding1 or fund freezing solely on the basis of suspicion4 7,b7 ,the burden of proof shall lie with the platform to demonstrate a seller's violation of applicable rules or laws4 #d4 ,enforcement 7a7 ,rulemaking authority ,the ,federal ,trade ,commission shall issue rules as necessary to carry out the provisions of this ,act within #ahj days of enactment4 7b7 ,enforcement authority ,a violation of this ,act1 or standards issued pursuant to this ,act1 by a person1 partnership1 or corporation operating an online platform in or affecting commerce shall be an unfair method of competition in violation of section #e7;a77#a7 of the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #de74 7c7 ,parens patriae ,any attorney general of a ,state may bring a civil action in the name of such ,state for a violation of this ,act as parens patriae on behalf of natural persons residing in such ,state1 in any district court of the ,united ,states having jurisdiction of the defendant1 and may secure any form of relief provided for in this section4 7d7 ,private right of action ,notwithstanding any mandatory arbitration agreement1 any person who shall be injured by reason of anything prohibited by this act may bring a civil action in any district court of the ,united ,states in the district in which the defendant resides or is found or has an agent1 without respect to the amount in controversy1 and shall recover threefold the damages by the person sustained1 and the cost of suit1 including a reasonable attorney's fee4 #e4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,critical trading partners ,the term critical trading partner means any trading partner that has the ability to restrict or impede-- 7,a7 the access of a business user to its users or customers2 or 7,b7 the access of a business user to a tool or service that it needs to effectively serve its users or customers4 7#b7 ,third-party seller ,the term third-party seller means any person or entity that sells goods on a dominant platform but does not own or control the platform4 7#c7 ,legally valid standard of proof ,the term legally valid standard of proof means preponderance of the evidence or another applicable legal threshold as determined appropriate by the ,federal ,trade ,commission4 7#d7 ,gated product ,the term gated product means any product or category restricted by the platform to approved sellers only4 #f4 ,rule of construction 7a7 ,in general ,nothing in this ,act shall be construed to limit any authority of the ,attorney ,general or the ,federal ,trade ,commission under the antitrust laws 7as defined in the first section of the ,clayton ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #ab771 the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #da et seq471 or any other provision of law or to limit the application of any law4 7b7 ,effect on seller status under other law ,nothing in this ,act1 including the definitions in section #e1 or the designation of a person as a third-party seller1 may be construed to determine whether a critical trading partner is a seller1 merchant1 distributor1 supplier1 manufacturer1 or any similar party under any ,federal or ,state law1 including any law governing product liability1 breach of warranty1 or consumer protection4 #g4 ,severability ,if any provision of this ,act1 or the application of such a provision to any person or circumstance1 is held to be unconstitutional1 the remaining provisions of this ,act1 and the application of the provision held to be unconstitutional to any other person or circumstance1 shall not be affected thereby4 #h4 ,effective date ,this ,act shall take effect #ahj days after the date of enactment4