15 U.S.C. § 8401

Findings; declaration of policy

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The Congress finds the following:(1) The Internet has become an important channel of commerce in the United States, accounting for billions of dollars in retail sales every year. Over half of all American adults have now either made an online purchase or an online travel reservation.(2) Consumer confidence is essential to the growth of online commerce. To continue its development as a marketplace, the Internet must provide consumers with clear, accurate information and give sellers an opportunity to fairly compete with one another for consumers’ business.(3) An investigation by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation found abundant evidence that the aggressive sales tactics many companies use against their online customers have undermined consumer confidence in the Internet and thereby harmed the American economy.(4) The Committee showed that, in exchange for “bounties” and other payments, hundreds of reputable online retailers and websites shared their customers’ billing information, including credit card and debit card numbers, with third party sellers through a process known as “data pass”. These third party sellers in turn used aggressive, misleading sales tactics to charge millions of American consumers for membership clubs the consumers did not want.(5) Third party sellers offered membership clubs to consumers as they were in the process of completing their initial transactions on hundreds of websites. These third party “post-transaction” offers were designed to make consumers think the offers were part of the initial purchase, rather than a new transaction with a new seller.(6) Third party sellers charged millions of consumers for membership clubs without ever obtaining consumers’ billing information, including their credit or debit card information, directly from the consumers. Because third party sellers acquired consumers’ billing information from the initial merchant through “data pass”, millions of consumers were unaware they had been enrolled in membership clubs.(7) The use of a “data pass” process defied consumers’ expectations that they could only be charged for a good or a service if they submitted their billing information, including their complete credit or debit card numbers.(8) Third party sellers used a free trial period to enroll members, after which they periodically charged consumers until consumers affirmatively canceled the memberships. This use of “free-to-pay conversion” and “negative option” sales took advantage of consumers’ expectations that they would have an opportunity to accept or reject the membership club offer at the end of the trial period.(Pub. L. 111–345, § 2, Dec. 29, 2010, 124 Stat. 3618.)Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesShort Title

Pub. L. 111–345, § 1, Dec. 29, 2010, 124 Stat. 3618, provided that: “This Act [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act’.”

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 7 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 2013–2025 · leading case: Fed. Trade Comm'n v. Hornbeam Special Situations, LLC, 308 F. Supp. 3d 1280 (N.D. Ga. 2018).

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Fed. Trade Comm'n v. Hornbeam Special Situations, LLC, 308 F. Supp. 3d 1280 (N.D. Ga. 2018). · cites it 2× “§ 45 (a), and the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act ("ROSCA"), 15 U.S.C. § 8401 et seq. The parties have made a number of motions to dismiss all or part of the FTC's first amended complaint [128].”

Donovan Lee v. Intelius Inc, 737 F.3d 1254 (9th Cir. 2013). “See 15 U.S.C. § 8401 et seq. B. Contract to Arbitrate Arbitration provisions in contracts are governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), 9 U.”

Trilegiant Corp. v. Orbitz, LLC, 45 Misc. 3d 348 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2014). · cites it 3× “Congress undertook an investigation into DataPass and enacted the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act ( 15 USC § 8401 et seq.) (ROSCA) on December 29, 2010, two days before the MSA was originally set to expire.”

Fed. Trade Comm'n v. Hornbeam Special Situations, LLC, 391 F. Supp. 3d 1218 (N.D. Ga. 2019). “§§ 53 (b) and 57b, the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act ("ROSCA"), 15 U.S.C. § 8401 et seq. , and the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act ("Telemarketing Act"), 15 U.”

Matter of People of the State of New York v. Sirius XM Radio Inc., 2025 NY Slip Op 06145 (N.Y. App. Div. 2025). · cites it 2× “The court properly granted petitioner summary judgment on its claim pursuant to the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (15 USC § 8401 et seq .) Given the plain language, legislative history and case law interpreting 15 USC § 8403, we find that the requirement that a…”

Fed. Trade Comm'n v. Match Grp. Inc (N.D. Tex. 2022). “” 15 U.S.C § 8401. Section 4 of ROSCA makes it unlawful to charge a consumer for goods or services sold online using a “negative option feature” unless the seller: (1) provides clear and conspicuous disclosure of all material terms of the transaction before obtaining the…”

United States v. Brown (2d Cir. 2024). “§ 57b(b), and to protect consumer confidence, 15 U.S.C. § 8401 (2)-(3), not to exact 7 criminal punishment.”

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