Sacramento, Calif. — California lawmakers have sent Governor Gavin Newsom AB 1790, a groundbreaking bill by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), assuring basic fairness for small businesses and third-party vendors who sell on online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. If signed by the governor, it will become the first law of its kind in the United States.
“Californians love to say, ‘As California goes, so goes the nation.’ AB 1790 provides us with a real opportunity to set down basic rules of the road for the relationship between small businesses and major online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay – principles of fairness that could set a new national standard,” said Assemblymember Wicks. “As consumers increasingly buy goods through online retailers like Amazon and eBay, it is critical we ensure that the small businesses selling on these large online platforms are treated with fairness, and that the policies regulating their relationship are clear from the outset. Ensuring these basic principles will help us maintain a free and fair online marketplace.”
AB 1790 will require marketplaces like Amazon and eBay provide clear and specific rules for resolving disputes and terminating or suspending accounts of third-party sellers using the marketplace. It will also require marketplaces that permit sellers to pay to influence ranking or search results of products, to describe that process and provide written information about how a seller can obtain pricing information.
The bill won final passage in the Assembly with a vote of 75-0 with support from Working Partnerships USA, the California Grocers Association, the California Retailers Association, the California Labor Federation and United Food and Commercial Workers. It heads to Governor Gavin Newsom with broad bipartisan support in both the State Assembly and State Senate.
Governor Gavin Newsom now has until October 13th to either sign or veto the legislation.