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AAFA hails US Act on protection from counterfeits, stolen items online
29 Mar '21
2 min read
Pic: Shutterstock
The American Apparel & Footwear Association recently applauded the introduction of the ‘Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act’ (INFORM Consumers Act), which aims at raising online marketplace transparency and accountability to combat the problem of counterfeit and stolen goods sold through these channels.
Introduced by Senators Dick Durbin and Bill Cassidy—and co-sponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley, Mazie K. Hirono, Chris Coons and Thom Tillis—the Act would modernise consumer protection laws and require online marketplaces to collect and verify basic business information from sellers before those entities can sell online.
In addition, the legislation would require high-volume sellers to provide contact information to consumers. Removing seller anonymity on these platforms will create basic accountability measures that will help protect consumers from counterfeit goods and make it harder for criminals to profit from selling stolen or counterfeit merchandise, AAFa said in a press release.
“Transparency and accountability on the part of trusted online marketplaces is essential, especially in an age where e-commerce has become so important to providing affordable fashion. However, we currently see limited — and frankly insufficient — efforts by many online platforms when it comes to verifying the identities of sellers and monitoring for counterfeits,” said AAFA president and chief executive officer Steve Lamar.
Throughout the pandemic, US e-commerce grew by 44 per cent as more families shopped online. Legislation, such as the INFORM Consumers Act, will help slow down the criminal networks targeting unsuspecting customers with the sale of stolen, counterfeit, expired, dangerous, and defective products, AAFA added.
Introduced by Senators Dick Durbin and Bill Cassidy—and co-sponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley, Mazie K. Hirono, Chris Coons and Thom Tillis—the Act would modernise consumer protection laws and require online marketplaces to collect and verify basic business information from sellers before those entities can sell online.
In addition, the legislation would require high-volume sellers to provide contact information to consumers. Removing seller anonymity on these platforms will create basic accountability measures that will help protect consumers from counterfeit goods and make it harder for criminals to profit from selling stolen or counterfeit merchandise, AAFa said in a press release.
“Transparency and accountability on the part of trusted online marketplaces is essential, especially in an age where e-commerce has become so important to providing affordable fashion. However, we currently see limited — and frankly insufficient — efforts by many online platforms when it comes to verifying the identities of sellers and monitoring for counterfeits,” said AAFA president and chief executive officer Steve Lamar.
Throughout the pandemic, US e-commerce grew by 44 per cent as more families shopped online. Legislation, such as the INFORM Consumers Act, will help slow down the criminal networks targeting unsuspecting customers with the sale of stolen, counterfeit, expired, dangerous, and defective products, AAFA added.
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