Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1090
By Senator Collins
14-00451A-25 20251090__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to online sellers from foreign
3 countries of concern; creating s. 501.174, F.S.;
4 defining terms; requiring an online marketplace to
5 record certain information from an online seller to
6 verify the online seller’s location; requiring an
7 online marketplace to disclose to consumers an online
8 seller’s or online marketplace’s location if the
9 online seller or online marketplace is in, conducts
10 business from, or fulfills orders from a foreign
11 country of concern; requiring an online marketplace to
12 hold in a United States-based account the sales
13 proceeds from transactions between Florida-based
14 consumers and online sellers located in, conducting
15 business from, or fulfilling orders from a foreign
16 country of concern; requiring an online marketplace to
17 hold such sales proceeds for a certain timeframe;
18 authorizing such sales proceeds to be transferred to
19 the online seller after a certain timeframe; providing
20 that a violation of this section is a violation of the
21 Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act;
22 providing an effective date.
23
24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
25
26 Section 1. Section 501.174, Florida Statutes, is created to
27 read:
28 501.174 Consumer protection against online sellers from
29 foreign countries of concern; online marketplaces.—
30 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
31 (a) “Foreign country of concern” means the People’s
32 Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic
33 of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic
34 of Cuba, the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro, or the Syrian
35 Arab Republic, including any agency of or any other entity under
36 significant control of such foreign country of concern.
37 (b) “Online marketplace” means any consumer-directed,
38 electronically based or accessed platform that:
39 1. Includes features that allow for, facilitate, or enable
40 online sellers to engage in the sale, purchase, payment,
41 storage, shipping, or delivery of a consumer product in the
42 United States;
43 2. Is used by one or more online sellers for such purposes;
44 and
45 3. Has a contractual or similar relationship with consumers
46 governing their use of the platform to purchase consumer
47 products.
48 (c) “Online seller” means any seller, independent of an
49 online marketplace, which sells, offers to sell, or contracts to
50 sell a consumer product in the United States through an online
51 marketplace.
52 (2) DATA COLLECTION.—An online marketplace shall record the
53 Internet protocol address of an online seller to verify its
54 location.
55 (3) DISCLOSURE.—Before a sale transaction, an online
56 marketplace shall disclose to a consumer in a clear and
57 conspicuous manner the general location of the online seller or
58 online platform if the online seller or online platform is
59 located in or conducts business from a foreign country of
60 concern.
61 (4) TRANSACTION PROCEEDS TO BE HELD BY ONLINE MARKETPLACE.—
62 (a) An online marketplace shall hold in a United States
63 based escrow account the proceeds of a transaction between a
64 Florida-based consumer and an online seller if the online seller
65 or the online platform is located in, conducts business from, or
66 fulfills orders from a foreign country of concern.
67 (b) The proceeds shall remain in the account for a period
68 of no less than 120 days.
69 (c) The proceeds may be transferred to the online seller
70 after 120 days have elapsed.
71 (5) ENFORCEMENT.—A violation of this section constitutes a
72 violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices
73 Act under part II of this chapter.
74 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.