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