15 U.S.C. § 45b — Consumer review protection

(a) Definitions (1) Commission: Means the Federal Trade Commission. (2) Covered communication: A written, spoken, or pictorial review or similar assessment of a person's goods, services, or conduct, made — including electronically — by someone who is a party to a form contract with that same person. (3) Form contract: A contract with standardized terms that a business uses to sell or lease its goods or services, imposed on someone without a real chance to negotiate those terms. This does not include an employer-employee contract or an independent-contractor contract. (4) Pictorial: Includes pictures, photographs, video, illustrations, and symbols. (b) Invalidity of contracts that impede consumer reviews (1) In general: A clause in a form contract is void from the moment the contract is made if it: bans or restricts someone's ability to make a covered communication (a review); imposes a fee or penalty on someone for making one; or makes someone give up their intellectual property rights in their own review content — except that requiring a plain, non-exclusive license to use the content is still allowed. (2) Rule of construction: This voiding rule does not affect: any confidentiality duty required by other law, including agency guidance; any lawsuit for defamation, libel, slander, or similar claims; a business's right to remove content from its own website if that content contains someone's private information or likeness, or is libelous, harassing, abusive, obscene, vulgar, sexually explicit, or inappropriate regarding race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, or similar traits, or is unrelated to the business's goods or services, or is clearly false or misleading; or a business's right to set terms for photos or video taken of its property by an employee or contractor for that business's own commercial use. (3) Exceptions: The voiding rule in paragraph (1) does not apply to a contract clause that bans, or reserves the right to remove, disclosure of: trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information; personnel or medical files whose disclosure would be a clear invasion of personal privacy; law-enforcement records whose disclosure would be a clear invasion of personal privacy; content already covered by the exception in paragraph (2)(C) above; or content containing computer viruses, worms, or other damaging code. (c) Prohibition It is unlawful for a person to offer a form contract that contains a clause voided under subsection (b). (d) Enforcement by Commission (1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices: Violating subsection (c) is treated as violating a Federal Trade Commission Act rule against unfair or deceptive acts or practices. (2) Powers of Commission: The Commission enforces this section using the same jurisdiction, powers, and procedures it has under the Federal Trade Commission Act, as if that Act's provisions were written directly into this section. Anyone who violates this section faces the same penalties, and gets the same privileges and protections, as under the Federal Trade Commission Act. (e) Enforcement by States (1) Authorization: If a state attorney general has reason to believe residents of that state have been or are being harmed by a violation of subsection (c), the attorney general may sue on the residents' behalf ("as parens patriae") in an appropriate federal district court. (2) Rights of Federal Trade Commission: Before suing, the state attorney general must generally notify the Commission in writing, including a copy of the planned complaint — unless that isn't feasible, in which case notice must go out immediately after the suit is filed. The Commission may intervene in the state's case, be heard on everything in it, and appeal any decision. (3) Investigatory powers: Nothing here limits a state attorney general's normal state-law powers to investigate, administer oaths, or compel witnesses and evidence. (4) Preemptive action by Federal Trade Commission: If the Commission already brought a civil or administrative case over a given violation, the state cannot sue the same defendant over that same violation while the Commission's case is still pending. (5) Venue; service of process: A state's lawsuit may be filed in the proper federal district under the normal venue rules, or in another court with jurisdiction. The defendant may be served wherever they live or can be found. (6) Actions by other State officials: Other authorized state consumer-protection officials, not just the attorney general, may also bring these lawsuits, under the same rules. This does not stop a state official from starting or continuing a case under the state's own civil or criminal law. (f) Education and outreach for businesses Within 60 days of December 14, 2016, the Commission had to start giving businesses non-binding best-practice guidance for complying with this law. (g) Relation to State causes of action Nothing in this section affects any lawsuit a person could otherwise bring under state law. (h) Savings provision Nothing in this section limits, weakens, or replaces the Federal Trade Commission Act or any other federal law. (i) Effective dates This section took effect December 14, 2016, except that: subsections (b) and (c) apply to contracts in effect on or after the date 90 days after that; and subsections (d) and (e) apply to contracts in effect on or after the date 1 year after that.