Following Letter To The FTC, Durbin, Cassidy Send Letters To Online Marketplaces Requesting Information On The Senators' INFORM Consumers Act
CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) today sent 46 letters to companies that operate online marketplaces requesting information on the implementation and enforcement of the Senators’ Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM Consumers) Act, which went into effect on June 27, 2023. The Senators sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) inquiring about the same information last week.
The Senators wrote, “We write to request information regarding your ongoing compliance with the Act and any additional steps [insert company] has taken to ensure that stolen, counterfeit, or unsafe items are not being sold through your marketplace.”
The legislation, which was sponsored by Durbin and Cassidy and signed into law in December 2022, combats the online sale of stolen, counterfeit, and dangerous consumer products by adding transparency and accountability to online transactions. It directs online retail marketplaces that include third-party sellers of consumer products to verify the identity of “high-volume third-party sellers,” which helps deter the online sale of counterfeit goods by anonymous sellers and prevents organized retail crime rings from stealing items from stores to resell online.
The Senators wrote, “The FTC is tasked with implementing and, along with state attorneys general, enforcing the INFORM Consumers Act. If the Act’s goals are to be fully realized, online marketplaces must play their part, and high-volume third-party sellers must know that they will be held accountable for violations of the Act’s requirements. Online marketplaces that violate the INFORM Consumers Act may face FTC or state attorney general law enforcement that could result in civil penalties, equitable relief, or other remedies.”
In order to ensure that the Act is achieving its legislative purpose, the Senators request the online marketplaces respond to a number of questions by September 12, 2025.
The Senators concluded, “We look forward to receiving your prompt responses and working with you to ensure that INFORM Consumers Act continues to deter criminals from acquiring stolen, counterfeit, or unsafe items and selling them through online marketplaces.”
The 46 companies that operate online marketplaces include 1stdibs.com, Inc., Alibris, Inc., Alibaba Group, U.S. Office, Amazon.com, Inc., Artsy, Belk Inc., bMarketplace (f/k/a Bonanza), LEGO Bricklink, Inc., Chewy, Inc., Depop, Discogs, eBay Inc., eBid Ltd., eCrater, Etsy, Inc., Express, Inc., Farfetch UK Limited, U.S. Office, Fashionphile Group, LLC, 1661, Inc., d/b/a GOAT, Houzz Inc., Kohl's Corporation, Macy's, Inc., Mercari US, Meta Platforms, Inc., Newegg, OfferUp, Inc., Oriental Trading Co., Inc., Beyond, Inc., Poshmark, The RealReal, Inc., Trendly, Inc. d/b/a Rebag, Redbubble Inc., Reverb.com, LLC, Ruby Lane, Inc., Shein Distribution Corporation, Shopify (USA) Inc., StockX Inc.,Target Corporation, Temu (WhaleCo, Inc.), ThredUp Inc., Transformco d/b/a Sears d/b/a Kmart, Urban Outfitters Inc., Vestiaire Collective, Walmart Inc., Wayfair Inc., and Zazzle Inc.
Full text of the letter to Amazon can found here, as an example.
For a specific marketplace letter, please reach out to Maddie_Carlos@durbin.senate.gov
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