3.0.0 2110 2023-01-11T13:27:33Z 2023-01-11T13:27:33Z House HR 2015-04-29 114 [Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 29, 2015)]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. ISSA:H.R. 2110.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article I, Section 8, Clause 3[Page H2655]]]> hsif00 Energy and Commerce Committee House Standing hsif17 Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee Referred to 2015-05-01T15:22:30Z Referred to 2015-04-29T13:02:45Z Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2015 114 2044 S 2015-12-18 Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade. Related bill CRS 2015-05-01 hsif17 Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee 1 House committee actions Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade. Committee 2015-04-29 Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. IntroReferral H11100 2 House floor actions hsif00 Energy and Commerce Committee 2015-04-29 Introduced in House IntroReferral Intro-H 9 Library of Congress 2015-04-29 Introduced in House IntroReferral 1000 9 Library of Congress I000056 Rep. Issa, Darrell E. [R-CA-49] DARRELL ISSA R CA E. 49 N S001193 Rep. Swalwell, Eric [D-CA-15] Eric Swalwell D CA 15 2015-04-29 True S000344 Rep. Sherman, Brad [D-CA-30] BRAD SHERMAN D CA 30 2015-04-29 True F000460 Rep. Farenthold, Blake [R-TX-27] Blake Farenthold R TX 27 2015-04-29 True E000215 Rep. Eshoo, Anna G. [D-CA-18] ANNA ESHOO D CA G. 18 2015-04-29 True C001068 Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] Steve Cohen D TN 9 2015-04-29 True H001034 Rep. Honda, Michael M. [D-CA-17] MICHAEL HONDA D CA M. 17 2015-05-12 False P000598 Rep. Polis, Jared [D-CO-2] Jared Polis D CO 2 2015-05-18 False P000608 Rep. Peters, Scott H. [D-CA-52] Scott Peters D CA H. 52 2015-07-08 False Commerce Civil actions and liability Competition and antitrust Consumer affairs Contracts and agency First Amendment rights Intellectual property Performance measurement Commerce 00 2015-04-29 Introduced in House 2015-05-27T22:09:33Z Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2015

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 persons who engage in such communications; or (3) transfers or requires the individual to transfer any intellectual property rights in any such otherwise lawful communications about the person or the goods or services provided by the person or business. (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. Sets forth authority for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and state attorneys general to enforce such prohibition.

Requires DOJ to bring an action against any business that violates such prohibition for civil penalty of not more than $16,000 for each day that the business requires the use of such a form contract by a distinct person.

]]> Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2015 Display Title Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2015 Official Title as Introduced To prohibit the use of certain clauses in form contracts that restrict the ability of a consumer to communicate regarding the goods or services that were the subject of the contract. Introduced in House IH Short Titles as Introduced Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2015 Introduced in House 2015-04-29T04:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-114hr2110ih/xml/BILLS-114hr2110ih.xml 2015-05-01 Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.