TALLAHASSEE – The Senate Committee on Commerce and Tourism unanimously passed Senate Bill 944, Online Marketplace Transparency, Tuesday during its first committee hearing.
The legislation aims to inform and protect consumers from the sale of fraudulent goods in Florida while cracking down on organized retail crime.
The Florida Retail Federation said organized retail theft is skyrocketing in Florida and state lawmakers may require online merchants to know more about who is selling on their platforms.
“Sixty-nine percent increase across the board, and it’s not just big-box retailers,” CEO Scott Shalley said. “It’s all retail. And these are organized entities. This is not shoplifting.”
Senate Bill 944 would require eBay and other middlemen between remote sellers and buyers to verify identify and contact information for anyone who sells more than $20,000 a year on a platform.
Senator Dennis Baxley is sponsoring the bill.
“Registration of the marketplaces online will allow us to detect stolen merchandise much quicker,” Baxley said.
Walgreens and Home Depot also voiced support. EBay lobbyist Jim Daughton asked lawmakers to wait for a federal solution.
“Obviously we prefer the federal bill to pass,” Daughton said.
The Florida Retail Federation believes the registry will get results.
“This is about individuals who are selling high volume, high volume goods that are still in the box brand new,” Shalley said. “If you get two blends for your wedding gift and you go to sell them online, that certainly makes sense. If you get 25 in a year, that’s a little suspicious. So we’d like to be able to track those individuals.”
Online facilitators who don’t follow the law could face fines of up to $10,000.
The law is set to take effect on July 1, 2022.
Online Marketplace Transparency; Requiring online marketplaces to require high-volume third-party sellers using their service to provide certain information to the online marketplace within a specified timeframe; requiring the online marketplace to suspend certain sellers who do not provide such a certification or updated information; requiring online marketplaces to disclose certain information in a specified manner; preempting the regulation of the verification and disclosure of such information to the Department of Legal Affairs, etc.
SB 944: Online Marketplace Transparency