WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today offered the following statements on Amazon’s decision to add more seller information for goods sold on their website. Beginning in September, Amazon will display business names and addresses of sellers in the U.S. marketplace.
“Consumers are safer when they know from where and from whom they are shopping. While Amazon’s decision is a step in the right direction, more needs to be done to crack down on the sale of illicit, counterfeit and stolen goods. Legislation like the INFORM Consumers Act and the SANTA Act bring more transparency to online shopping to better protect consumers from illegal sellers,” said Dr. Cassidy.
“Transparent marketplaces are safer marketplaces. I have been working with Senator Cassidy on bipartisan legislation, the INFORM Consumers Act, that will provide consumers with basic identifying information about those who sell consumer products online, and I’m pleased that this announcement represents a positive step forward in that direction. But we have more work to do. In the height of a global pandemic where many will look for ways to price gouge and deceive people on online marketplaces, we must ensure that consumers have accurate information about who third-party sellers are and how to contact them. I will continue to work with Senator Cassidy to pass our bill that does exactly that,” said Durbin.
Earlier this year, Cassidy and Durbin introduced the INFORM Consumers Act (Integrity, Notification and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces Act) to fight the sale of stolen, counterfeit, price-gauged and dangerous products by requiring extensive transparence of large-volume, third-party online sellers. The bill requires high-volume third-party sellers to disclose the seller’s name, business address, email address, phone number and whether the seller is a manufacturer, importer, retailer or a reseller of consumer products.
In December, Cassidy and U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) introduced the SANTA Act (Stop All Nefarious Toys in America Act) to protect Americans from unknowingly buying counterfeit and illicit goods. The bill requires that online marketplaces clearly display product origins and business names and contact information. New information required under the SANTA Act include:
- Full name, full business address, whether the seller is the manufacturer, importer, retailer or reseller of the children’s product and contact information for the seller, including working phone number and working email.
- Online marketplaces should also notify parents if the product is fulfilled or shipped from a seller or warehouse that is different from the original seller.
- Online marketplaces should verify seller information prior to listing through government issued ID, bank accounts, individual and business contact information. This should exclude sellers of used children’s products and resellers of children’s products.
For more on the INFORM Consumers Act, click here.
For more on the SANTA Act, click here.
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