[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 721 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 721

   To require the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a study of the 
 marketing and advertising practices of manufacturers and retailers of 
                          personal computers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 8, 1997

Mr. Torricelli introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a study of the 
 marketing and advertising practices of manufacturers and retailers of 
                          personal computers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Personal Computer Truth in 
Advertising Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    (b) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) computer manufacturers and retailers commonly refer to 
        the speed of the central processing unit of a personal computer 
        in selling a personal computer;
            (2) computer manufacturers and retailers commonly charge 
        hundreds of dollars more for a CPU that has a faster speed;
            (3) all CPUs operate at 2 speeds (measured in megahertz 
        (MHz)), an external speed and an internal speed;
            (4) the external speed of a personal computer affects 
        computing activities that computer users experience, including 
        the scrolling of a word processing document, the smoothness of 
        an animation, and the complexity and frame rate of a flight 
        simulator;
            (5) the internal speed of a personal computer, which is 
        faster than the external speed of the computer, affects 
        activities, such as spreadsheet calculations, spelling checks, 
        and database organizations;
            (6) it is common for manufacturers and retailers to mention 
        the internal speed of a CPU without mentioning its external 
        speed for the marketing and advertising of a personal computer; 
        and
            (7) a study by the Federal Trade Commission would assist in 
        determining whether any practice of computer retailers and 
        manufacturers in providing CPU speeds in advertising and 
        marketing personal computers is deceptive, for purposes of the 
        Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.).

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Central processing unit; cpu.--The term ``central 
        processing unit'' or ``CPU'' means the central processing unit 
        of a personal computer.
            (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Trade Commission.
            (3) Manufacturer.--The term ``manufacturer'' shall have the 
        meaning provided that term by the Commission.
            (4) Megahertz.--The term ``megahertz'' or ``MHz'', when 
        used as a unit of measurement of the speed of a CPU, means 
        1,000,000 cycles per second.
            (5) Retailer.--The term ``retailer'' shall have the meaning 
        provided that term by the Commission.

SEC. 4. PERSONAL COMPUTER MARKETING AND ADVERTISING STUDY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall conduct a study of the 
marketing and advertising practices of manufacturers and retailers of 
personal computers.
    (b) Contents of Study.--In conducting the study under this 
subsection, the Commission shall give particular emphasis to 
determining--
            (1) whether the practice of the advertising of the internal 
        speed of a CPU in megahertz, without mentioning the external 
        speed of a CPU, could be considered to be an unfair or 
        deceptive practice, within the meaning of section 5 of the 
        Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45); and
            (2) the extent to which the practice referred to in 
        paragraph (1) is used in the marketing and advertising of 
        personal computers.
    (c) Report.--Upon completion of the study under subsection (a), the 
Chairman of the Commission shall transmit to Congress a report that 
contains--
            (1) the findings of the study conducted under this section; 
        and
            (2) such recommendations as the Commission determines to be 
        appropriate.
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