Sponsor
Paul Tonko
Representative · D-NY
Representative · D-NY
The bill reduces bot-driven scalping and centralizes enforcement to protect consumers and retailers, but it increases compliance and litigation risks and may create legal uncertainty or overbroad criminalization that could harm security research and accessibility tools.
Consumers and online retailers will face less automated scalping and bot-driven stock depletion, reducing inflated resale prices and preserving inventory for legitimate buyers.
Consumers gain fairer access to limited-quantity goods (e.g., concert tickets, limited releases) because automated circumvention of purchasing controls is prohibited.
State governments, consumers, and regulators benefit from a centralized federal enforcement pathway (FTC authority) that can provide more consistent remedies against circumvention practices.
People with disabilities and tech developers risk reduced interoperability and accessibility if broadly applied circumvention rules ensnare benign tools and assistive technologies.
Small online sellers face increased compliance costs and potential civil enforcement if they unknowingly resell diverted or circumvention-affected goods, raising liability risk for small businesses.
Defendants could face parallel state-level lawsuits (parens patriae actions) in addition to federal enforcement, increasing litigation exposure and legal costs for sellers and platforms.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits circumventing website purchase limits/inventory controls and selling goods obtained that way, with FTC and state enforcement and narrow security-research exceptions.
Official title: To prohibit the circumvention of control measures used by internet retailers to ensure equitable consumer access to products, and for other purposes.
Introduced December 17, 2025 by Paul Tonko · Last progress December 17, 2025
Makes it illegal to bypass technological controls on websites or online services that enforce posted purchasing limits or manage inventory, and bans selling products in interstate commerce that were obtained by such circumvention when the seller participated in, controlled, or knew (or should have known) about the circumvention. The bill creates limited exceptions for authorized security research and for software used to investigate, enforce, or defend against alleged violations, and assigns enforcement to the Federal Trade Commission with parallel state enforcement authority under parens patriae rules.