SB1455: Online marketplace; establishes requirements for high-volume third-party sellers.

Legislative Summary

Online marketplace; high-volume third-party sellers. Establishes requirements for high-volume third-party sellers, defined in the bill as participants in an online marketplace that have entered into at least 200 discrete sales or transactions for 12 continuous months during the past 24 months resulting in accumulation of an aggregate total of $5,000 or more in gross revenues. The bill requires an online marketplace to (i) require high-volume third-party sellers to provide identifying and contact information to the online marketplace; (ii) verify the information provided by a high-volume third-party seller within 10 days of receipt; and (iii) require that high-volume third-party sellers make certain conspicuous disclosures to consumers on their product listing pages, with certain limited exceptions. The bill provides that the Attorney General has the exclusive authority to enforce its provisions and authorizes the Attorney General to seek an injunction to restrain any violations of the bill and seek civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation. The bill also makes it a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act for any supplier in connection with a consumer transaction to sell, offer for sale, or facilitate the sale, including through an online marketplace platform or other online website or through the supplier's warehouse or distribution center, of stolen goods.