Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act - Defines "post-transaction third party seller" as a person that: (1) sells, or offers for sale, any good or service on the Internet; (2) solicits purchases on the Internet through an initial merchant after the consumer has initiated a transaction with the initial merchant; and (3) is not a subsidiary or corporate affiliate of the initial merchant.
Makes it unlawful for any post-transaction third party seller to charge or attempt to charge any consumer's credit card, debit card, bank account, or other financial account in an Internet-based transaction, unless: (1) before obtaining the consumer's billing information, the seller has disclosed all material terms, including the fact that the seller is not affiliated with the initial merchant; and (2) the seller has received the express informed consent.
Makes it unlawful for an initial merchant to disclose such financial account number or other billing information to any such seller (sometimes referred to as a data-pass).
Makes it unlawful, subject to exception, for any person to charge or attempt to charge a consumer for goods or services sold in an Internet-based transaction through a "negative option feature." Defines "negative option feature" as a provision under which the customer's failure to take an affirmative action to reject goods or services or to cancel the agreement is interpreted by the seller as acceptance of the offer.
Prohibits construing this Act to supersede or otherwise affect the Electronic Fund Transfer Act or any regulation thereunder.
Treats a violation of this Act or any regulation thereunder as an unfair or deceptive act or practice. Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce this Act.
Authorizes any state attorney general to bring an action on behalf of the state's residents to enjoin further violation, to compel compliance with this Act, to obtain damages, or to obtain other appropriate relief.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on July 1, 2010. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 1, 2010: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 111th Congress (2009-10), 383 of the 10,778 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.6 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Zachary Space (D-OH) introduced it on July 1, 2010. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 1, 2010, 5915 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5915 days ago, on July 1, 2010.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 111th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2011 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers