15 U.S.C. § 45f
An online marketplace shall require any high-volume third party seller on such online marketplace's platform to provide, not later than 10 days after qualifying as a high-volume third party seller on the platform, the following information to the online marketplace:
A bank account number, or, if such seller does not have a bank account, the name of the payee for payments issued by the online marketplace to such seller.
The bank account or payee information required under subclause (I) may be provided by the seller in the following ways:
Contact information for such seller as follows:
A business tax identification number, or, if such seller does not have a business tax identification number, a taxpayer identification number.
A current working email address and phone number for such seller.
An online marketplace shall-
In the event that a high-volume third party seller does not provide the information or certification required under this paragraph, the online marketplace shall, after providing the seller with written or electronic notice and an opportunity to provide such information or certification not later than 10 days after the issuance of such notice, suspend any future sales activity of such seller until such seller provides such information or certification.
An online marketplace shall-
In the case of a high-volume third party seller that provides a copy of a valid government-issued tax document, any information contained in such document shall be presumed to be verified as of the date of issuance of such document.
Data collected solely to comply with the requirements of this section may not be used for any other purpose unless required by law.
An online marketplace shall implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices, including administrative, physical, and technical safeguards, appropriate to the nature of the data and the purposes for which the data will be used, to protect the data collected to comply with the requirements of this section from unauthorized use, disclosure, access, destruction, or modification.
An online marketplace shall-
The information described in this subparagraph is the following:
Subject to subparagraph (B), upon the request of a high-volume third party seller, an online marketplace may provide for partial disclosure of the identity information required under paragraph (1)(B)(i) in the following situations:
If an online marketplace becomes aware that a high-volume third party seller has made a false representation to the online marketplace in order to justify the provision of a partial disclosure under subparagraph (A) or that a high-volume third party seller who has requested and received a provision for a partial disclosure under subparagraph (A) has not provided responsive answers within a reasonable time frame to consumer inquiries submitted to the seller by phone, email, or other means of electronic messaging provided to such seller by the online marketplace, the online marketplace shall, after providing the seller with written or electronic notice and an opportunity to respond not later than 10 days after the issuance of such notice, suspend any future sales activity of such seller unless such seller consents to the disclosure of the identity information required under paragraph (1)(B)(i).
An online marketplace shall disclose to consumers in a clear and conspicuous manner on the product listing of any high-volume third party seller a reporting mechanism that allows for electronic and telephonic reporting of suspicious marketplace activity to the online marketplace.
If a high-volume third party seller does not comply with the requirements to provide and disclose information under this subsection, the online marketplace shall, after providing the seller with written or electronic notice and an opportunity to provide or disclose such information not later than 10 days after the issuance of such notice, suspend any future sales activity of such seller until the seller complies with such requirements.
A violation of subsection (a) or (b) by an online marketplace shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
The Commission shall enforce subsections (a) and (b) in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this section.
Any person that violates subsection (a) or (b) shall be subject to the penalties, and entitled to the privileges and immunities, provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.).
The Commission may promulgate regulations under section 553 of title 5 with respect to the collection, verification, or disclosure of information under this section, provided that such regulations are limited to what is necessary to collect, verify, and disclose such information.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the Commission under any other provision of law.
If the attorney general of a State has reason to believe that any online marketplace has violated or is violating this section or a regulation promulgated under this section that affects one or more residents of that State, the attorney general of the State may bring a civil action in any appropriate district court of the United States, to-
The attorney general of a State shall provide prior written notice of any action under paragraph (1) to the Commission and provide the Commission with a copy of the complaint in the action, except in any case in which such prior notice is not feasible, in which case the attorney general shall serve such notice immediately upon instituting such action.
Upon receiving notice under paragraph (2), the Commission shall have the right-
If the Commission has instituted a civil action for violation of this section or a regulation promulgated under this section, no State attorney general, or official or agency of a State, may bring a separate action under paragraph (1) during the pendency of that action against any defendant named in the complaint of the Commission for any violation of this section or a regulation promulgated under this section that is alleged in the complaint. A State attorney general, or official or agency of a State, may join a civil action for a violation of this section or regulation promulgated under this section filed by the Commission.
For purposes of bringing a civil action under paragraph (1), nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the chief law enforcement officer, or official or agency of a State, from exercising the powers conferred on such chief law enforcement officer, or official or agency of a State, by the laws of the State to conduct investigations, administer oaths or affirmations, or compel the attendance of witnesses or the production of documentary and other evidence.
In addition to civil actions brought by attorneys general under paragraph (1), any other officer of a State who is authorized by the State to do so, except for any private person on behalf of the State attorney general, may bring a civil action under paragraph (1), subject to the same requirements and limitations that apply under this subsection to civil actions brought by attorneys general.
Nothing in this subsection may be construed to prohibit an authorized official of a State from initiating or continuing any proceeding in a court of the State for a violation of any civil or criminal law of the State.
If any provision of this section, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of this section and the application of such provision to other persons not similarly situated or to other circumstances shall not be affected by the invalidation.
In this section:
The term "Commission" means the Federal Trade Commission.
The term "consumer product" has the meaning given such term in section 2301 of this title and section 700.1 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations.
The term "high-volume third party seller" means a participant on an online marketplace's platform who is a third party seller and, in any continuous 12-month period during the previous 24 months, has entered into 200 or more discrete sales or transactions of new or unused consumer products and an aggregate total of $5,000 or more in gross revenues.
For purposes of calculating the number of discrete sales or transactions or the aggregate gross revenues under subparagraph (A), an online marketplace shall only be required to count sales or transactions made through the online marketplace and for which payment was processed by the online marketplace, either directly or through its payment processor.
The term "online marketplace" means any person or entity that operates a consumer-directed electronically based or accessed platform that-
The term "seller" means a person who sells, offers to sell, or contracts to sell a consumer product through an online marketplace's platform.
The term "third party seller" means any seller, independent of an online marketplace, who sells, offers to sell, or contracts to sell a consumer product in the United States through such online marketplace's platform.
The term "third party seller" does not include, with respect to an online marketplace-
The term "verify" means to confirm information provided to an online marketplace pursuant to this section, which may include the use of one or more methods that enable the online marketplace to reliably determine that any information and documents provided are valid, corresponding to the seller or an individual acting on the seller's behalf, not misappropriated, and not falsified.
No State or political subdivision of a State, or territory of the United States, may establish or continue in effect any law, regulation, rule, requirement, or standard that conflicts with the requirements of this section.
This section shall take effect 180 days after December 29, 2022.
15 U.S.C. § 45f
EDITORIAL NOTES
REFERENCES IN TEXTThe Federal Trade Commission Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), is act Sept. 26, 1914, ch. 311, 38 Stat. 717, which is classified generally to subchapter I (§41 et seq.) of chapter 2 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 58 of this title and Tables.
CODIFICATIONSection was enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, and not as part of the Federal Trade Commission Act which comprises this chapter.