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CIVIC HERALD
S 294 · 119th Congress · SenateIn committee

COOL Online Act

In plain language: Online retailers would be required to clearly state the country of origin for new products and disclose where the seller's business is based. Product pages for over-the-counter medications must also list the manufacturer or distributor's name and location. These requirements exclude secondhand goods, small online sellers making under $20,000 annually, and most food and agricultural items. The Federal Trade Commission will enforce these rules and penalize businesses that fail to comply.

Provisional: our plain-language summary, pending review.

Provisionalunreviewed: impact, provisions, stakeholders, summary
People affected—Not determinable from the text; affects a broad but unspecified population of online retailers, suppliers, importers, and consumers.
Fiscal magnitude—No specific appropriation, fee, or dollar amount is authorized in the text (the $20,000 threshold only defines a small seller exemption).
Reach60provisional · pending reviewrigor: heuristic llm
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Who it affects

Who it helps · who it burdens.

Who it helps

  • Online consumersGain access to conspicuous disclosures of product country of origin and seller business location when viewing and buying imported products online.provisional
  • Online retailers and marketplace sellersReceive legal protection against liability if they rely in good faith on false origin information from a supplier and promptly remove the deceptive representation upon notice.provisional

Who it burdens

  • Online retailers and marketplace sellersMust conspicuously display the country of origin and the seller's principal place of business on product listings for imported goods, as well as manufacturer/distributor details for imported non-prescription drugs.provisional
  • Product manufacturers, importers, and suppliersMust provide country-of-origin and seller location details to retailers selling their products on internet websites.provisional
  • Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Department of AgricultureRequired to coordinate and publish a joint Memorandum of Understanding within six months to enforce online country-of-origin disclosure rules, with the FTC enforcing violations as unfair or deceptive trade practices.provisional

Dollar-level funding (FEC sector totals) is coming in a later phase.

What it does

The provisions, in plain language.

  1. Requires internet websites selling imported goods to clearly display each product's country of origin and the country where the seller is based, exempting FDA-regulated foods, certain agricultural products, used goods, and small sellers.

    provisional

  2. Requires online listings for imported non-prescription drugs to clearly display the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor.

    provisional

  3. Requires manufacturers, importers, distributors, and suppliers to provide required country-of-origin and business location details to retailers selling their products online.

    provisional

  4. Protects online retailers and marketplace sellers from liability if they reasonably rely in good faith on false origin information provided by a supplier and promptly remove it upon notice.

    provisional

  5. Authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to enforce online country-of-origin disclosure requirements and penalize violations as unfair or deceptive trade practices.

    provisional

How your members of Congress line up

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Timeline

How it moved.

  1. Jan 29, 2025Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  2. Jan 29, 2025Introduced in Senate

The original text

Read it for yourself.

Read the original text →

Sources & provenance

Congress.govrefreshed 3 months ago

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