I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7756 
To require online marketplaces to verify and disclose certain information 
regarding high-volume third-party sellers of consumer products to inform 
consumers. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 23, 2020 
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself and Ms. CASTOR of Florida) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To require online marketplaces to verify and disclose certain 
information regarding high-volume third-party sellers of 
consumer products to inform consumers. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Integrity, Notification, 
and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Con-
sumers Act’’ or the ‘‘INFORM Consumers Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION BY ONLINE MAR-
KETPLACES TO INFORM CONSUMERS. 
(a) VERIFICATION REQUIRED.— 
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(i) if the high-volume third-party sell-
er is an individual, a copy of a govern-
ment-issued photo identification for the in-
dividual that includes the individual’s 
name and physical address; or 
(ii) if the high-volume third-party sell-
er is not an individual, either— 
(I) a copy of a government-issued 
photo identification for an individual 
acting on behalf of the high-volume 
third-party seller that includes the in-
dividual’s name and physical address; 
or 
(II) a copy of a government- 
issued record or tax document that in-
cludes the business name and physical 
address of the high-volume third-party 
seller; and 
(iii) a working email address and 
working phone number for the high-volume 
third-party seller. 
(C) A business tax identification number 
or, if the high-volume third-party seller does not 
have a business tax identification number, a 
taxpayer identification number. 
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(D) Whether the high-volume third-party 
seller is exclusively advertising or offering the 
consumer product or products on the online 
marketplace, or if the high-volume third-party 
seller is currently advertising or offering for 
sale the same consumer product or products on 
any other internet websites other than the on-
line marketplace. 
(2) ONGOING VERIFICATION.— 
(A) The online marketplace shall verify the 
information provided in paragraph (1) within 3 
days, and shall verify within 3 days any 
changes to such information that is provided to 
the marketplace by a high-volume third-party 
seller. If a high-volume third-party seller pro-
vides a copy of a valid government-issued tax 
document, information contained within such 
tax document shall be presumed to be verified 
as of the date of issuance of such record or doc-
ument. 
(B) The online marketplace shall, on at 
least an annual basis, notify each high-volume 
third-party seller on the online marketplace that 
the seller must inform the online marketplace of 
any changes to the information provided by the 
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seller pursuant to paragraph (1) within 3 days 
of receiving the notification and shall instruct 
each high-volume third-party seller, as part of 
the notification, to electronically certify either 
that the seller’s information is unchanged or 
that the seller is providing changes to the infor-
mation. If the online marketplace becomes 
aware that a high-volume third-party seller has 
neither certified that the seller’s information is 
unchanged nor has not provided such changed 
information within 3 days of receiving such no-
tification, the online marketplace shall suspend 
the high-volume third-party seller’s participa-
tion on the marketplace until the seller has ei-
ther certified that the seller’s information is un-
changed or has provided such changed informa-
tion and the information has been verified. 
(b) DISCLOSURE REQUIRED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any online marketplace shall 
require a high-volume third-party seller in such on-
line marketplace to provide, and shall disclose to 
consumers in a conspicuous manner either on the 
product listing or, for information other than the 
seller’s full name, through a conspicuously placed 
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link on the product listing, the following informa-
tion: 
(A) Subject to paragraph (2), the identity 
of the high-volume third-party seller which shall 
include— 
(i) the full name of the seller; 
(ii) the full physical address of the 
seller; 
(iii) whether the seller also engages in 
the manufacturing, importing, or reselling 
of consumer products; and 
(iv) contact information for the seller, 
including a working phone number and 
working email address. Such working email 
address may be provided to the high-vol-
ume third-party seller by the online mar-
ketplace. 
(B) Any other information that the Com-
mission determines to be necessary to address 
circumvention or evasion of the requirements of 
this paragraph, provided that the additional in-
formation is limited to what is necessary to ad-
dress such circumvention or evasion. 
(2) EXCEPTION.— 
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(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), upon the request of a high-volume 
third-party seller, an online marketplace may 
provide for partial disclosure of the identity in-
formation required under paragraph (1)(A) in 
the following situations: 
(i) If the high-volume third-party sell-
er demonstrates to the online marketplace 
that the seller does not have a business ad-
dress and only has a residential street ad-
dress, the online marketplace may direct 
the high-volume third-party seller to dis-
close only the country and, if applicable, 
the State in which the high-volume third- 
party seller resides on the product listing, 
and may inform consumers that there is no 
business address available for the seller 
and that consumer inquiries should be sub-
mitted to the seller by phone or email. 
(ii) If the high-volume third-party sell-
er demonstrates to the online marketplace 
that the seller is a business that has a 
physical address for product returns, the 
online marketplace may direct the high-vol-
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ume third-party seller to disclose the sell-
er’s physical address for product returns. 
(iii) If a high-volume third-party seller 
demonstrates to the online marketplace 
that the seller does not have a phone num-
ber other than a personal phone number, 
the online marketplace shall inform con-
sumers that there is no phone number 
available for the seller and that consumer 
inquiries should be submitted to the sell-
er’s email address. 
(B) LIMITATION
ON
EXCEPTION.—If an 
online marketplace becomes aware that a high- 
volume third-party seller has made a false rep-
resentation 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 re-
ceived a provision for a partial disclosure under 
subparagraph (A) has not provided responsive 
answers within a reasonable timeframe to con-
sumer inquiries submitted to the seller by phone 
or email address, the online marketplace shall 
withdraw its provision for partial disclosure and 
require the full disclosure of the high-volume 
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