The Stopping Grinch Bots Act of 2023 would make it illegal to use bots or other technology to bypass security measures that online retailers put in place to limit purchases and manage inventory during high-demand periods, such as the holiday shopping season. The law would also prohibit selling products that were obtained through such circumvention if the seller knew or should have known about the illegal acquisition. The Federal Trade Commission would enforce the law and treat violations as unfair or deceptive trade practices, and state attorneys general would also have authority to bring lawsuits on behalf of their residents to stop violations and recover damages. The bill includes exceptions for legitimate security research and activities related to investigating violations. No specific funding or implementation timeline is mentioned in the legislation.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.