Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016
Latest action · Dec 14, 2016 Became Public Law No: 114-258.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 28, 2016
- Passed HouseSep 12, 2016
- Passed SenateNov 28, 2016
- To the PresidentDec 2, 2016
- Became lawDec 14, 2016Public Law 114-258
Summary
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on September 9, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016
(Sec. 2) This bill makes a provision of a form contract void from the inception if it: (1) prohibits or restricts an individual who is a party to such a contract from engaging in written, oral, or pictorial reviews, or other similar performance assessments or analyses of, including by electronic means, the goods, services, or conduct of a person that is also a party to the contract; (2) imposes penalties or fees against individuals who engage in such communications; or (3) transfers or requires the individual to transfer intellectual property rights in review or feedback content (with the exception of a nonexclusive license to use the content) in any otherwise lawful communications about such person or the goods or services provided by such person.A "form contract" is a contract with standardized terms: (1) used by a person in the course of selling or leasing the person's goods or services, and (2) imposed on an individual without a meaningful opportunity to negotiate the standardized terms. The definition excludes an employer-employee or independent contractor contract.
The standards under which provisions of a form contract are considered void under this bill shall not be construed to affect:
- legal duties of confidentiality;
- civil actions for defamation, libel, or slander; or
- a party's right to establish terms and conditions for the creation of photographs or video of such party's property when those photographs or video are created by an employee or independent contractor of a commercial entity and are solely intended to be used for commercial purposes by that entity.
Such standards also shall not be construed to affect any party's right to remove or refuse to display publicly on an Internet website or webpage owned, operated, or controlled by such party content that: (1) contains the personal information or likeness of another person or is libelous, harassing, abusive, obscene, vulgar, sexually explicit, inappropriate with respect to race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, or other intrinsic characteristic; (2) is unrelated to the goods or services offered by or available at such party's website; or (3) is clearly false or misleading.
A provision shall not be considered void under this bill to the extent that it prohibits disclosure or submission of, or reserves the right of a person or business that hosts online consumer reviews or comments to remove, certain: (1) trade secrets or commercial or financial information; (2) personnel and medical files; (3) law enforcement records; (4) content that is unlawful or that a party has a right to remove or refuse to display; or (5) computer viruses or other potentially damaging computer code, processes, applications, or files.
A person is prohibited from offering form contracts containing a provision that is considered void under this bill.
Enforcement authority is provided to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and states.
The FTC must provide businesses with nonbinding best practices for compliance.
Nothing in this bill shall be construed to limit, impair, or supersede the Federal Trade Commission Act or any other federal law.
Cosponsors 9
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 28, 2016 to May 11, 2016; 8 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-CA | Darrell Issa | Original | Apr 28, 2016 |
| D-CA | Eric Swalwell | Original | Apr 28, 2016 |
| R-MS | Gregg Harper | Original | Apr 28, 2016 |
| D-MA | Joseph P. Kennedy III | Original | Apr 28, 2016 |
| R-OK | Markwayne Mullin | Original | Apr 28, 2016 |
| R-TX | Michael C. Burgess | Original | Apr 28, 2016 |
| R-KS | Mike Pompeo | Original | Apr 28, 2016 |
| R-TX | Pete Olson | Original | Apr 28, 2016 |
| D-CA | Tony Cárdenas | May 11, 2016 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Apr 28, 2016Markup Jul 13, 2016Reported Sep 9, 2016 |
| Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee | Referred Apr 29, 2016Markup Jun 9, 2016Reported Jun 9, 2016 |
Actions 22
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 14, 2016Signed by President.
- Dec 14, 2016Became Public Law No: 114-258.
- Dec 2, 2016Presented to President.
- Nov 29, 2016Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Nov 28, 2016Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S6520)
- Sep 13, 2016Received in the Senate, read twice.
- Sep 12, 2016Mr. Burgess moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Sep 12, 2016Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5295-5298)
- Sep 12, 2016DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5111.
- Sep 12, 2016Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H5295-5296)
- Sep 12, 2016Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Sep 9, 2016Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 114-731.
- Sep 9, 2016Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 567.
- Jul 13, 2016Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Jul 13, 2016Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- Jul 12, 2016Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Jun 9, 2016Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Jun 9, 2016Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote .
- Jun 8, 2016Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Apr 29, 2016Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
- Apr 28, 2016Introduced in House
- Apr 28, 2016Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
In the Congressional Record 3
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S6543 | John Thune R-SD | Nov 29, 2016 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S6520 | Mitch McConnell R-KY | Nov 28, 2016 |
| House | Debate and remarks H5293, H5295–H5298Text printed H5295 | Earl L. "Buddy" Carter R-GA, Eric Swalwell D-CA, Fred Upton R-MI, Janice D. Schakowsky D-IL, Joseph P. Kennedy III D-MA, Leonard Lance R-NJ, Michael C. Burgess R-TX | Sep 12, 2016 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Aug 5, 2016H.R. 5111, Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016As ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on July 13, 2016
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 162, no. 66, April 28, 2016, page H2110.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 114-148 | LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON 17 FTC BILLS284 pages | Energy and Commerce Committee | May 24, 2016 |
CRS reports 8
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 8
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R47624 | Legislative Branch: FY2024 Appropriations | Report | May 21, 2024 |
| R47296 | Legislative Branch: FY2023 Appropriations | Report | Mar 13, 2023 |
| R46936 | Legislative Branch: FY2022 Appropriations | Report | May 18, 2022 |
| R45755 | Legislative Branch: FY2020 Appropriations Archived | Report | Feb 12, 2020 |
| R45214 | Legislative Branch: FY2019 Appropriations Archived | Report | Nov 13, 2018 |
Titles 6
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To prohibit the use of certain clauses in form contracts that restrict the ability of a consumer to communicate regarding the goods or services offered in interstate commerce that were the subject of the contract, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016
- Short Titles as Reported to House
- Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016
- Short Titles as Passed House
- Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016
- Short Titles as Passed Senate
- Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016
- Short Titles as Enacted
- Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Commerce.
Text 5
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- —Enrolled Bill
- Sep 13, 2016Received in Senate
- Sep 12, 2016Engrossed in House
- Sep 9, 2016Reported in House
- Apr 28, 2016Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
