US Congress House Bill 5499 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: Introduced on September 16 2014 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2014-09-19 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
Pending: House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

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.

Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2014

Rep. Eric Swalwell [D-CA]	Rep. Tony Cardenas [D-CA]	Rep. Steve Cohen [D-TN]	Rep. Anna Eshoo [D-CA]
Rep. Brad Sherman [D-CA]	Rep. Mark Takano [D-CA]

Date	Chamber	Action
2014-09-19	House	Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
2014-09-16	House	Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/5499/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/113/bills/hr5499/BILLS-113hr5499ih.pdf