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United States · Law · HR

H.R. 5111 (114th)

Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016

enactedUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

28 April 2016

Last action

14 December 2016 · President

Status

Became Public Law No: 114-258.

Sponsors

Rep. Lance, Leonard [R-NJ-7], Rep. Kennedy, Joseph P., III [D-MA-4], Rep. Issa, Darrell [R-CA-48], Rep. Swalwell, Eric [D-CA-15], Rep. Burgess, Michael C. [R-TX-26], Rep. Harper, Gregg [R-MS-3], Rep. Pompeo, Mike [R-KS-4], Sen. Mullin, Markwayne [R-OK], Rep. Olson, Pete [R-TX-22], Rep. Cárdenas, Tony [D-CA-29]

Subjects

Discovery layer

Source updated

7 April 2025

Official sourceDownload fileView documentsShare

Summary

Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 This bill makes a provision of a form contract void from the inception if it is used in the course of selling or leasing goods or services to: (1) prohibit or restrict an individual who is a party to such a contract from engaging in written, oral, or pictorial reviews, or other similar performance assessments or analyses of, including by electronic means, the goods, services, or conduct of a person that is also a party to the contract; (2) impose penalties or fees against individuals who engage in such communications; or (3) transfer or require the individual to transfer intellectual property rights in review or feedback content (with the exception of a nonexclusive license to use the content) in any otherwise lawful communications about such person or the goods or services provided by such person. The bill does not apply to an employer-employee or independent contractor contract. The standards under which provisions of a form contract are considered void under this bill shall not be construed to affect: legal duties of confidentiality; civil actions for defamation, libel, or slander; or a party's right to establish terms and conditions for the creation of photographs or video of such party's property when those photographs or video are created by an employee or independent contractor of a commercial entity and are solely intended to be used for commercial purposes by that entity. Such standards also shall not be construed to affect any party's right to remove or refuse to display on its Internet website content that: (1) contains the personal information or likeness of another person or is libelous, harassing, abusive, obscene, vulgar, sexually explicit, inappropriate with respect to race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, or other intrinsic characteristic; (2) is unrelated to the goods or services offered by or available at such party's website; or (3) is clearly false or misleading. A provision shall not be considered void under this bill to the extent that it prohibits disclosure or submission of, or reserves the right of a person or business that hosts online consumer reviews or comments to remove, certain: (1) trade secrets or commercial or financial information; (2) personnel and medical files; (3) law enforcement records; (4) content that is unlawful or that a party has a right to remove or refuse to display; or (5) computer viruses or other potentially damaging computer code, processes, applications, or files. A person is prohibited from offering form contracts containing a provision that is considered void under this bill. Enforcement authority is provided to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and states. The FTC must provide businesses with nonbinding best practices for compliance.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

  1. 28 April 2016

    Introduced

    Introduced in House

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 28 April 2016

    Introduced

    Introduced in House

    Source: IntroReferral

  3. 28 April 2016

    Introduced

    Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

    Source: IntroReferral

  4. 29 April 2016

    Referred

    Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.

    Source: Committee

  5. 8 June 2016

    Committee

    Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

    Source: Committee

  6. 9 June 2016

    Committee

    Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote .

    Source: Committee

  7. 9 June 2016

    Committee

    Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

    Source: Committee

  8. 12 July 2016

    Committee

    Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

    Source: Committee

  9. 13 July 2016

    Reported

    Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.

    Source: Committee

  10. 13 July 2016

    Committee

    Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

    Source: Committee

  11. 9 September 2016

    Calendars

    Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 567.

    Source: Calendars

  12. 9 September 2016

    Reported

    Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 114-731.

    Source: Committee

  13. 9 September 2016

    Reported

    Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 114-731.

    Source: Committee

  14. 12 September 2016

    Passed

    Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

    Source: Floor

  15. 12 September 2016

    Passed

    On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H5295-5296)

    Source: Floor

  16. 12 September 2016

    Passed

    Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H5295-5296)

    Source: Floor

  17. 12 September 2016

    Floor

    DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5111.

    Source: Floor

  18. 12 September 2016

    Floor

    Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5295-5298)

    Source: Floor

  19. 12 September 2016

    Floor

    Mr. Burgess moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

    Source: Floor

  20. 13 September 2016

    Introduced

    Received in the Senate, read twice.

    Source: IntroReferral

  21. 28 November 2016

    Passed

    Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S6520)

    Source: Floor

  22. 28 November 2016

    Passed

    Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S6520)

    Source: Floor

  23. 29 November 2016

    Floor

    Message on Senate action sent to the House.

    Source: Floor

  24. 2 December 2016

    Floor

    Presented to President.

    Source: Floor

  25. 2 December 2016

    President

    Presented to President.

    Source: President

  26. 14 December 2016

    Became law

    Became Public Law No: 114-258.

    Source: President

  27. 14 December 2016

    Became law

    Signed by President.

    Source: BecameLaw

  28. 14 December 2016

    President

    Signed by President.

    Source: President

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

Documents

17 official files

Enrolled Bill (text)

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  • Enrolled Bill (text)

    Enrolled Bill · EN

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  • Enrolled Bill (PDF)

    Enrolled Bill · EN

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  • Public Law (text)

    Public Law · EN · 14 December 2016

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  • Public Law (PDF)

    Public Law · EN · 14 December 2016

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  • Public Law

    summary · EN · 14 December 2016

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  • Passed Senate without amendment

    summary · EN · 28 November 2016

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  • Received in Senate (text)

    Received in Senate · EN · 13 September 2016

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  • Received in Senate (PDF)

    Received in Senate · EN · 13 September 2016

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  • Engrossed in House (text)

    Engrossed in House · EN · 12 September 2016

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  • Engrossed in House (PDF)

    Engrossed in House · EN · 12 September 2016

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  • Passed House amended

    summary · EN · 12 September 2016

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  • Reported in House (text)

    Reported in House · EN · 9 September 2016

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  • Reported in House (PDF)

    Reported in House · EN · 9 September 2016

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  • Reported to House with amendment(s)

    summary · EN · 9 September 2016

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  • Introduced in House (text)

    Introduced in House · EN · 28 April 2016

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  • Introduced in House (PDF)

    Introduced in House · EN · 28 April 2016

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  • Introduced in House

    summary · EN · 28 April 2016

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Sponsors

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