I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2110 

To prohibit the use of certain clauses in form contracts that restrict the 

ability of a consumer to communicate regarding the goods or services 

that were the subject of the contract. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 29, 2015 

Mr. ISSA (for himself, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. 

FARENTHOLD, Ms. ESHOO, and Mr. COHEN) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To prohibit the use of certain clauses in form contracts 

that restrict the ability of a consumer to communicate 

regarding the goods or services that were the subject 

of the contract. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Review 

5 Freedom Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROTECTING CONSUMER SPEECH. 

2 (a) PROHIBITION.—A provision of a form contract is 

3 void from the inception of such contract if such provi4 sion— 

5 (1) prohibits or restricts the ability of a person 

6 who is a party to the form contract to engage in a 

7 covered communication; 

8 (2) imposes a penalty or fee against a person 

9 who is a party to the form contract for engaging in 

10 a covered communication; or 

11 (3) transfers or requires the individual to trans12 fer to any person or business any intellectual prop13 erty rights that the individual may have in any oth14 erwise lawful covered communication about the per15 son or the goods or services provided by the person 

16 or business; 

17 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub18 section (a) shall be construed to affect— 

19 (1) any duty of confidentiality imposed by law 

20 (including agency guidance); or 

21 (2) any civil action for defamation, libel, or 

22 slander, or any similar cause of action. 

23 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 

24 the extent that a provision of a form contract prohibits 

25 disclosure of the following: 


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1 (1) Trade secrets or commercial or financial in2 formation obtained from a person and considered 

3 privileged or confidential. 

4 (2) Personnel and medical files and similar files 

5 the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly un6 warranted invasion of personal privacy. 

7 (3) Records or information compiled for law en8 forcement purposes, the disclosure of which would 

9 constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal 

10 privacy. 

11 (d) UNLAWFUL CONDUCT.—It shall be unlawful for 

12 a business to offer or enter into a form contract containing 

13 a provision described as void in subsection (a). 

14 (e) PENALTY.—The Attorney General shall bring an 

15 action against any business who violates subsection (d) for 

16 a civil penalty of not more than $16,000 for each day that 

17 the business so requires the use of such a contract by a 

18 distinct person. 

19 (f) STATE ENFORCEMENT.—The attorney general of 

20 a State may file an action to enforce subsection (d) seek21 ing appropriate relief. In any case in which the attorney 

22 general of a State has reason to believe that an interest 

23 of the residents of that State has been or is threatened 

24 or adversely affected by the engagement of any person in 

25 a practice that violates any regulation of the Commission 


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1 prescribed under this section, the State, as parens patriae, 

2 may bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the 

3 State in a district court of the United States of appro4 priate jurisdiction to seek appropriate relief. 

5 (g) DEFINITIONS.— 

6 (1) The term ‘‘person’’ means a natural person. 

7 (2) The term ‘‘business’’ means a legal entity 

8 organized to accomplish a business purpose, includ9 ing either for-profit or not-for-profit. 

10 (3) The term ‘‘form contract’’ means a stand11 ardized contract used by a business and imposed on 

12 a party without a meaningful opportunity for said 

13 party to negotiate the standardized terms, but does 

14 not include a contract establishing an employer-em15 ployee or independent contractor relationship. 

16 (4) The term ‘‘covered communication’’ means 

17 a person’s written, verbal, or pictorial review, per18 formance assessment of, or other similar analysis of, 

19 the products, services, or conduct of a business or 

20 person which is a party to the form contract. 

21 (5) The term ‘‘written’’ includes words provided 

22 by electronic means. 

23 (6) The term ‘‘verbal’’ includes speech provided 

24 by electronic means. 


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1 (7) The term ‘‘pictorial’’ includes pictures, pho2 tographs, and video provided by electronic means. 

3 (h) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

4 (1) Subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (g) shall 

5 apply to any contracts in effect on or after date of 

6 enactment. 

7 (2) Subsections (e) and (f) shall apply to any 

8 contracts in effect on or after one year after date of 

9 enactment. 

10 SEC. 3. RELATION TO STATE CAUSES OF ACTION. 

11 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect any 

12 cause of action brought by a person that exists or may 

13 exist under State law. 

Æ 


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