When a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced The Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act at the end of March 2021, it was well received as an effort to address the growing problem of illicit goods sold online. In its current form, however, provisions in the INFORM Consumers Act would disproportionately harm women, as they make up a significant proportion of individuals who own online stores and earn income on third-party platforms.
Under the INFORM Consumers Act, a third-party vendor would be classified as a high-volume seller if they "entered into 200 more…sales or transactions" in a twelve-month period on eCommerce sites such as Etsy, Amazon, or eBay. Once classified as a high-volume seller, sellers would be forced to provide consumers with their full name, business address, information as to whether the vendor manufactures, imports, or resells products. Additionally, vendors would be forced to provide the online eCommerce platform with verified bank account information, a government-issued photo I.D., a government-issued record verifying business information, and a business tax identification number. This information must be provided within two business days.
Failure to provide this information in the required timeframe would force eCommerce platforms to suspend stores, preventing them from making sales and earning additional income. The suspension would only be lifted once the owner provides the required information.
