Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2015
Latest action · Dec 18, 2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
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.
- IntroducedSep 16, 2015
- Passed SenateDec 14, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2015
(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 Act 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 Act 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 Act.
Enforcement authority is provided to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and states.
The FTC must provide businesses with nonbinding best practices for compliance.
Cosponsors 8
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Sep 16, 2015 to Dec 15, 2015; 2 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-HI | Brian Schatz | Original | Sep 16, 2015 |
| R-KS | Jerry Moran | Original | Sep 16, 2015 |
| D-MO | Claire McCaskill | Nov 3, 2015 | |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Nov 3, 2015 | |
| D-FL | Bill Nelson | Nov 4, 2015 | |
| R-MT | Steve Daines | Nov 5, 2015 | |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Nov 17, 2015 | |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Dec 15, 2015 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Referred Sep 16, 2015Markup Nov 18, 2015Reported Dec 8, 2015 |
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Dec 16, 2015 |
| Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee | Referred Dec 18, 2015 |
Actions 12
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 18, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
- Dec 15, 2015Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Dec 15, 2015Received in the House.
- Dec 15, 2015Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- Dec 14, 2015Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S8639-8640)
- Dec 14, 2015The committee substitute withdrawn by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S8639-8640; text as reported to Senate: CR S8639)
- Dec 14, 2015Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Dec 8, 2015Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Thune with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 114-175.
- Dec 8, 2015Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 316.
- Nov 18, 2015Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Sep 16, 2015Introduced in Senate
- Sep 16, 2015Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
In the Congressional Record 2
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 S8639Text printed S8639Amendments S8638, S8639 | Brian Schatz D-HI (amendment), Cory A. Booker D-NJ (amendment), Jerry Moran R-KS (amendment), John Thune R-SD (amendment), Mitch McConnell R-KY, Richard Blumenthal D-CT (amendment), Ron Wyden D-OR (amendment), Steve Daines R-MT (amendment) | Dec 14, 2015 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S8539Cost estimates S8539 | John Thune R-SD | Dec 9, 2015 |
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
- Dec 10, 2015S. 2044, Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2015As reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on November 18, 2015
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 114-269 | ZERO STARS: HOW GAGGING.HONEST REVIEWS HARMS CONSUMERS AND THE ECONOMY80 pages | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Nov 4, 2015 |
Amendments 1
Amendments offered to this bill.
| Amendment | Description | Offered by | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SA 2927 | In the nature of a substitute. | John Thune R-SDfor Mitch McConnell | Amendment SA 2927 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent. |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2110 | Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2015 | Related bill | May 1, 2015 |
| HR 5111 | Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 | Related bill | Dec 14, 2016 |
Titles 4
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- 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 offered in interstate commerce that were the subject of the contract, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2015
- Short Titles as Reported to Senate
- Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2015
- Short Titles as Passed Senate
- Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2015
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Commerce.
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 15, 2015Referred in House
- Dec 14, 2015Engrossed in Senate
- Dec 8, 2015Reported to Senate
- Sep 16, 2015Introduced in Senate
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.
