Florida Senate - 2022 CS for SB 944
By the Committee on Rules; and Senator Baxley
595-03643-22 2022944c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to online marketplace transparency;
3 creating s. 559.953, F.S.; defining terms; requiring
4 online marketplaces to require high-volume third-party
5 sellers using their service to provide certain
6 information to the online marketplace within a
7 specified timeframe; requiring the online marketplace
8 to verify such information, or changes to such
9 information, within a specified timeframe; providing
10 that information on valid government-issued tax
11 documents is presumed verified as of the issuance
12 date; requiring an online marketplace to update and
13 require certification of the updated information at
14 least annually; requiring the online marketplace to
15 suspend certain sellers who do not provide such a
16 certification or updated information; requiring online
17 marketplaces to disclose certain information in a
18 specified manner; requiring specified disclosures;
19 prohibiting certain collected data from being used for
20 any other purpose unless required by law; requiring
21 online marketplaces to implement and maintain certain
22 security procedures and practices relating to data
23 security; providing for enforcement; providing
24 construction; authorizing the Department of Legal
25 Affairs to adopt rules; preempting the regulation of
26 the verification and disclosure of such information to
27 the department; providing an effective date.
28
29 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
30
31 Section 1. Section 559.953, Florida Statutes, is created to
32 read:
33 559.953 Disclosure of information by online marketplaces.—
34 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
35 (a) “Consumer product” means a product that is used or
36 bought for use primarily for personal, family, or household
37 purposes.
38 (b) “High-volume third-party seller” means a participant in
39 an online marketplace that is a third-party seller and that, in
40 any continuous 12-month period during the previous 24 months,
41 has entered into 200 or more discrete sales or transactions of
42 new or unused consumer products resulting in the accumulation of
43 an aggregate total of $5,000 or more in gross revenues. Only
44 sales or transactions made through the online marketplace for
45 which payment was processed by the online marketplace, either
46 directly or through the online marketplace’s payment processer,
47 count towards the calculation for the number of discrete sales
48 or transactions or the gross revenues.
49 (c) “Online marketplace” means any consumer-directed
50 electronically based or accessed platform that:
51 1. Includes features that allow for, facilitate, or enable
52 third-party sellers to engage in the sale, purchase, payment,
53 storage, shipping, or delivery of a consumer product in the
54 United States;
55 2. Is used by one or more third-party sellers for such
56 purposes; and
57 3. Has a contractual or similar relationship with consumers
58 governing their use of the platform to purchase consumer
59 products.
60 (d) “Seller” means a person who sells, offers to sell, or
61 contracts to sell a consumer product through an online
62 marketplace.
63 (e) “Third-party seller” means any seller, independent of
64 an online marketplace, that sells, offers to sell, or contracts
65 to sell a consumer product in the United States through an
66 online marketplace. The term does not include, with respect to
67 an online marketplace:
68 1. A seller that operates the online marketplace;
69 2. A business entity that has made available to the general
70 public the entity’s name, business address, and contact
71 information;
72 3. A business entity with an ongoing contractual
73 relationship with the online marketplace to provide the online
74 marketplace with the manufacture, distribution, wholesaling, or
75 fulfillment of shipments of consumer products; or
76 4. A business entity that has provided to the online
77 marketplace identifying information that has been verified.
78 (f) “Verify” means to confirm information and documentation
79 provided to an online marketplace by the use of one or more
80 methods that enable the online marketplace to reliably determine
81 that any information and documents provided which correspond to
82 the seller or an individual acting on the seller’s behalf are
83 valid, not misappropriated, and not falsified.
84 (2) VERIFICATION.—
85 (a) An online marketplace shall require that any high
86 volume third-party seller on the online marketplace provide the
87 online marketplace with all of the following information within
88 10 days after qualifying as a high-volume third-party seller:
89 1. Deposit account information from a financial
90 institution. If the high-volume third-party seller does not have
91 deposit account information at a financial institution, such
92 seller must provide the online marketplace with the name of the
93 payee for payments issued by the online marketplace to the high
94 volume third-party seller, and the information must be confirmed
95 by the online marketplace or by another third party contracted
96 by the online marketplace.
97 2. Contact information, including all of the following:
98 a. A valid e-mail address and phone number.
99 b. If the high-volume third-party seller is an individual,
100 the individual’s name.
101 c. If the high-volume third-party seller is not an
102 individual, either a copy of a government-issued photo
103 identification for an individual acting on behalf of such seller
104 which includes such individual’s name and physical address or a
105 copy of a government-issued record or tax document that includes
106 the business name and physical address of the high-volume third
107 party seller.
108 3. A business tax identification number or, if the high
109 volume third-party seller does not have a business tax
110 identification number, a taxpayer identification number.
111 (b) The online marketplace shall verify the information the
112 high-volume third-party seller provides under this subsection
113 within 10 days after receiving such information. If the high
114 volume third-party seller provides any changes to the
115 information, the online marketplace must verify such changes
116 within 10 days after receiving the information. If a high-volume
117 third-party seller provides a copy of a valid government-issued
118 tax document, the information contained within such tax document
119 shall be presumed verified as of the date of issuance of such
120 document.
121 (c) The online marketplace shall, on at least an annual
122 basis, notify each high-volume third-party seller on the online
123 marketplace that such seller must inform the online marketplace
124 of any changes to the information previously provided by the
125 seller within 10 days after receiving the notification. The
126 notification must require the high-volume third-party seller to
127 either electronically certify that the high-volume third-party
128 seller’s information is unchanged or provide changes to the
129 information as necessary. If the online marketplace becomes
130 aware that a high-volume third-party seller has not certified
131 that such information is unchanged or provided such changed
132 information within 10 days after receiving such notification,
133 the online marketplace must suspend the selling privileges of
134 the high-volume third-party seller until such seller provides
135 such certification or changed information.
136 (3) DISCLOSURE.—
137 (a) An online marketplace shall disclose to consumers, in a
138 clear and conspicuous manner in the order confirmation message
139 or other document or communication made to the consumer after
140 the purchase is finalized and in the consumer’s account
141 transaction history, all of the following information of any
142 high-volume third-party seller with an aggregate total of
143 $20,000 or more in annual gross revenues on its online platform:
144 1. The full name of the high-volume third-party seller,
145 which may include the seller’s name or company name, or the name
146 by which the seller or company operates on the online
147 marketplace.
148 2. The full physical address of the high-volume third-party
149 seller. If the seller certifies to the online marketplace that
150 the seller does not have a business address and only has a
151 residential street address, or has a combined business and
152 residential address, the online marketplace may:
153 a. Disclose to consumers the country of the seller and, if
154 applicable, the state in which the seller resides.
155 b. Inform consumers that a business address is not
156 available for the seller and that consumer inquiries should be
157 submitted to the seller by telephone, e-mail, or other means of
158 electronic messaging provided to the seller by the online
159 marketplace. If the seller certifies to the online marketplace
160 that the seller is a business that has a physical address for
161 product returns, the online marketplace may disclose the
162 seller’s physical address for product returns.
163 3. Contact information for the high-volume third-party
164 seller, including a telephone number or an e-mail address or
165 other means of direct electronic messaging, which may be
166 provided to the seller by the online marketplace, to allow for
167 direct, unhindered communication with the seller. If the only
168 telephone number of the seller is the personal telephone number
169 of the seller, the online marketplace must inform consumers that
170 a telephone number is not available for the seller and that
171 consumer inquiries should be submitted to the seller’s e-mail
172 address or other means of electronic messaging provided to the
173 seller by the online marketplace.
174 4. Whether the high-volume third-party seller used a
175 different seller to supply the consumer product to the consumer
176 upon purchase. Upon the request of the consumer, the online
177 marketplace shall disclose the identification of a seller, if
178 the seller is different from the high-volume third-party seller
179 listed on the consumer product listing before the purchase.
180 (b) If an online marketplace becomes aware that a high
181 volume third-party seller has made a false representation to the
182 online marketplace in order to restrict access to the full
183 physical address, telephone number, or e-mail address required
184 in paragraph (a), the online marketplace must, after providing
185 the seller with written or electronic notice, require the full
186 disclosure of the high-volume third-party seller’s full physical
187 address, telephone number, and e-mail address. If such
188 information is not disclosed within 10 days after notification,
189 the online marketplace must suspend the selling privileges of
190 the high-volume third-party seller on the online marketplace
191 until the required information is disclosed.
192 (c) An online marketplace shall provide to consumers, in a
193 conspicuous manner on the consumer product listing of any high
194 volume third-party seller, a reporting mechanism that allows for
195 electronic and telephonic reporting of suspicious marketplace
196 activity to the online marketplace.
197 (d) This subsection does not prevent an online marketplace
198 from using any additional measures, electronic or otherwise,
199 that it deems necessary to prevent spam, fraud, or abuse in
200 communication between the consumer and the high-volume third
201 party seller, or the sale of fraudulent, stolen, or counterfeit
202 consumer products on its platform.
203 (4) DATA USE LIMITATION.—Data collected solely to comply
204 with the requirements of this section may not be used for any
205 other purpose unless required by law.
206 (5) DATA SECURITY REQUIREMENT.—An online marketplace shall
207 implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and
208 practices, including administrative, physical, and technical
209 safeguards, which are appropriate to the nature of the data and
210 the purposes for which the data will be used, to protect the
211 data collected to comply with the requirements of this section
212 from unauthorized use, disclosure, access, destruction, or
213 modification.
214 (6) ENFORCEMENT.—A violation of this section constitutes a
215 violation of the Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act under
216 part II of chapter 501. A person who violates this section is
217 subject to the penalties and remedies provided therein.
218 Notwithstanding s. 501.211, this section does not create a
219 private cause of action in favor of any person damaged by a
220 violation of this section.
221 (7) RULES.—The Department of Legal Affairs may adopt rules
222 with respect to collecting and verifying information under this
223 section, provided that such rules are limited to what is
224 necessary to collect and verify such information.
225 (8) PREEMPTION.—The regulation of the requirement for
226 online marketplaces to verify information from high-volume
227 third-party sellers on a one-time or ongoing basis or disclose
228 information to consumers is preempted to the department. A local
229 governmental entity may not establish, mandate, or otherwise
230 require the verification or disclosure of such information.
231 Section 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2023.