The US Congress has enacted legislation to crack down on counterfeit sales in e-commerce, and third-party sellers will need identity verification!

Many online users expressed their support, as the law can, to a certain extent, reduce the sale of counterfeit and stolen goods through online markets and maintain market order .

Manufacturers including the American Apparel and Footwear Association , the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the Buy Safe America Alliance , consumer groups , wholesalers , distributors and the Toy Association , etc., covering almost the entire e-commerce industry's sellers and consumers, have expressed support for the implementation of the law.

If enacted, the law would require online retail marketplaces that include third-party sellers to authenticate the identities of “a large number of third-party sellers,” Durbin said .

The bill will reportedly help stop anonymous sellers from selling counterfeit goods online and prevent organized retail crime rings from stealing goods from stores to resell them in bulk online . The bill will also enable consumers to see basic identity and contact information of such sellers .

"We need transparency in online sales to protect consumers from fraud," said Michael Hansen, spokesman for the Buy Safe America Alliance .

Data shows that 44% of the growth in e-commerce in the United States during the epidemic was related to e-commerce fraud . Most consumers purchased counterfeit, expired , dangerous and defective products, and Amazon was the hardest hit .

Amazon has long faced problems with counterfeit and stolen goods sold by some sellers through its marketplace.

The e-commerce giant has previously touted its efforts to combat counterfeit products, including announcing a "counterfeit crimes unit" last year , and has frequently taken sellers to court and sometimes worked with affected brands.

But it turns out that these efforts have not yielded good results. In January , the Office of the United States Trade Representative released the 2020 "Markets Notorious for Counterfeiting and Piracy Review", which details markets known for counterfeit goods . Amazon 's markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, France , Germany , and Italy were listed .

The issue also came up during a congressional hearing last year, when Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos and other tech leaders were at the center of the debate. At that hearing, lawmakers pressed Bezos to increase transparency for sellers , a key to combating such sales .

“We believe this bill will increase transparency and accountability in online marketplaces, it will address the serious problem caused by counterfeit and substandard products on online marketplace platforms , and it will help protect consumers,” Hargrove said . “ The seller disclosure and verification requirements in the bill are best practices for all marketplaces , giving consumers and law enforcement the power to reduce fraudulent sales . ”

Recently, a series of "weird" practices by Amazon have seriously affected the external image of the platform. Once the bill is finalized, Amazon will definitely be the first target. I wonder how the platform will put pressure on sellers at that time.

Therefore, before selling products, sellers must check the copyright, quality and other issues of the products to avoid increasing sales risks.

USA

E-commerce selling counterfeit goods

Third-party sellers