H.R. 5499 · 113th Congress
Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2014
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 113th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
SwalwellSponsor5 cosponsors · 5 D
3 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2014 - Declares a provision of a form contract to be void from the inception if it: (1) prohibits or restricts a person who is a party to the contract from engaging in written, verbal, or pictorial reviews, or other similar performance assessments or analyses of, the products, services, or conduct of a business that is a party…
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Sep 16, 2014
Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2014 - Declares a provision of a form contract to be void from the inception if it: (1) prohibits or restricts a person who is a party to the contract from engaging in written, verbal, or pictorial reviews, or other similar performance assessments or analyses of, the products, services, or conduct of a business that is a party to the contract; (2) imposes penalties or fees against such a person for engaging in such communications; or (3) assigns or provides an exclusive license, or requires such a person to assign or provide an exclusive license, to any of the person's intellectual property rights in such communications. (Thus, bars certain contract provisions that prohibit consumers from commenting publicly about businesses.)
Sets forth exceptions under which a provision shall not be considered void under this Act if the provision prohibits disclosure of certain: (1) trade secrets or commercial or financial information, (2) personnel and medical files, or (3) law enforcement records.
Provides for this Act to be inapplicable to contracts establishing an employer-employee or independent contractor relationship.
Prohibits businesses from offering or entering into form contracts containing a provision that is considered void under this Act. Treats violations by businesses as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act. Sets forth authority for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general to enforce such violations.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2014
Latest action (Sep 19, 2014): Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
Policy area: Commerce · Origin: House · Introduced: Sep 16, 2014
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.