[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 59 (Thursday, May 8, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4232-S4233]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. TORRICELLI:
  S. 721. 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; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation.

[[Page S4233]]

         THE PERSONAL COMPUTER TRUTH IN ADVERTISING ACT OF 1997

 Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, today I am introducing ``The 
Personal Computer Truth in Advertising Act of 1997,'' which is designed 
to ensure that consumers are provided with accurate information about 
the performance of what is becoming one of the most important consumer 
products in the Nation, the personal computer.
  My bill requires the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and 
conduct a study of the marketing and advertising practices of personal 
computer manufacturers and retailers with regard to possibly misleading 
claims made about the performance of their products.
  As we head into the next century, the personal computer is quickly 
becoming one of the most important consumer products. Indeed, the 
market for computers in the home has exploded in recent years with the 
market expected to double by 2000. Still, despite their growing 
popularity, purchasing a personal computer involves technology and 
terminology that can be very intimidating and confusing to the average 
consumer.
  Of particular concern to me is a practice by personal computer 
retailers and manufacturers in how they advertise the speed of the 
central processing unit (CPU) of the personal computer. Indeed, when 
marketing and advertising personal computers, the CPU speed is a 
prominent selling point and consumers are frequently charged hundreds 
of dollars more for models with faster CPU's.
  The CPU is to the personal computer as an engine is to an automobile. 
Measured in millions of cycles per second [mhz], the faster the CPU, 
the better the software performs. The CPU's in personal computers, 
including the popular Pentium chip, operate at two speeds, an external 
speed and an internal speed. The external speed affects computing 
activity the user sees in action--the scrolling of a web page or a word 
processing document, the smoothness of an animated interactive 
storybook and the complexity and frame rate of a flight simulator. The 
internal speed of the CPU involves activity invisible to the user--
spreadsheet calculations, spell checking and database organization.
  Nonetheless, personal computers are commonly marketed according to 
their internal, and faster, speed. For example, a Pentium computer 
advertised as a 200 mhz screamer runs at only 66 mhz externally. Still, 
most advertisements fail to mention this discrepancy and retailers and 
manufacturers charge hundreds of dollars more for the 200 mhz than they 
would for a 66 mhz model.
  Moreover, driving the sales of personal computers has been the 
availability of advanced multimedia and interactive entertainment 
software. This is the very software whose performance depends greatly 
on the CPU's external clock speed.
  My legislation would require the Federal Trade Commission to conduct 
a study of the marketing and advertising practices of manufacturers and 
retailers of personal computers, with particular emphasis on claims 
made about the CPU. My bill requires the FTC to perform their study 
within 180 days of enactment of the bill. I had previously written to 
the FTC on this issue as a member of the House.
  Car manufacturers provide both highway and city mileage performance 
figures for the performance of their engines and computer manufacturers 
should follow the same logic with the engines of the personal computer, 
the CPU.
  I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this bill and I will work hard for 
its enactment into law.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 721

       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.
                                 ______