Buying from marketplace sellers: what the INFORM Consumers Act makes online marketplaces disclose

When you order a TV, earbuds or an air fryer from a third-party seller on an online marketplace, a federal law decides what the marketplace must tell you about that seller. The INFORM Consumers Act, in effect since June 27, 2023, requires marketplaces to collect and verify identifying information from “high-volume third party sellers” of new or unused consumer products, to disclose some of it to shoppers, and to give shoppers a way to report suspicious activity. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general enforce it.

The FTC says the aim is to make online sales more transparent and to deter criminals from selling stolen, counterfeit or unsafe goods through marketplaces.

Which platforms and sellers it covers

An online marketplace, in the FTC's summary of the statute, is a consumer-directed platform that lets third-party sellers engage in the “sale, purchase, payment, storage, shipping, or delivery of a consumer product in the United States,” and that has a contract or similar relationship with the consumers who buy through it. A consumer product takes its meaning from the Magnuson-Moss warranty law: “tangible personal property for sale and that is normally used for personal, family, or household purposes.”

A seller becomes high-volume on a platform after 200 or more separate sales of new or unused consumer products and $5,000 or more in gross revenues there, in any continuous 12-month period during the previous 24 months. Only sales made and paid for through that marketplace count, the FTC says. In our reading, sales of used items do not count toward the 200 sales, which the statute limits to new or unused consumer products. The law exempts the marketplace itself, and businesses that have made their name, address and contact details public, have a contract with the marketplace to make, distribute, wholesale or fulfill products, and have given the marketplace identifying information it has verified.

What the marketplace must do, by seller size

What the seller information looks like

For a high-volume seller with $20,000 or more in annual gross revenues on a platform, the marketplace must clearly and conspicuously disclose the seller's full name, which may be the name it uses on the platform, its physical address, and contact information for “direct, unhindered communication”: a working phone number, a working email address, or another direct messaging channel that the marketplace may provide and monitor for fraud or spam. The statute lets the marketplace show this on the product listing page, including through a link, or after the purchase, in the order confirmation and the consumer's account transaction history. Under the second option, in our reading, a shopper may first see the seller's address after paying.

There are exceptions. For a seller with only a residential address, the marketplace may show just the country and, where relevant, the state; a business may show its returns address instead; and if a seller's only phone is a personal one, the marketplace points shoppers to email or messaging. A marketplace must suspend a seller who lied to get partial disclosure, or who does not answer shoppers' inquiries within a reasonable time, after notice and 10 days to respond, unless the seller agrees to full disclosure.

For the same sellers, the marketplace must also disclose whether a different seller supplied the product, and a purchaser whose identity has been authenticated can ask for that supplier's name, address and contact details.

How the law is enforced

A marketplace's violation is treated as a violation of an FTC rule on unfair or deceptive practices, which exposes it to civil penalties. The FTC's guidance puts the maximum at $53,088 per violation, the figure set for penalties assessed after January 17, 2025. In a Federal Register notice of September 15, 2026, the FTC said the amounts stay unchanged during 2026, because the Office of Management and Budget cancelled the 2026 inflation adjustment after the October 2025 consumer price index could not be produced during the government shutdown. State attorneys general can also sue in federal court, seeking penalties, damages or restitution for their residents.

The FTC announced the first case under the law on September 5, 2025: Whaleco, Inc., which operates the Temu marketplace, would pay a $2 million civil penalty to resolve allegations that it violated the act, under a proposed order that needed a federal court's approval. According to the complaint, Temu offered no telephone way to report suspicious activity and, when it did, made it hard to reach; it offered no reporting tool on its “gamified” shopping listings until November 2024, and for part of the time did not clearly disclose seller information on those listings and its mobile website. The Justice Department filed the complaint and the proposed order in federal court in Massachusetts, and the court entered the order on September 8, 2025, according to the signed copy posted on the FTC's case page. As the FTC described it, the order requires a phone reporting line on which consumers can listen back to, re-record and accept their report before sending it. Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said the action “serves as a reminder to online marketplaces that violating the INFORM Act can result in serious consequences, including civil penalties.”

What the law does not do

In our reading, nothing in the act tests or certifies products: seller details say nothing about whether a charger or appliance is genuine or safe. Our guides to counterfeit safety marks and fake reviews cover those questions. The law also leaves smaller sellers out: below the thresholds, a marketplace has no duty under it to disclose anything about them.

Information collected solely to comply with the act may not be used for any other purpose unless the law requires it, and marketplaces must keep it secure.

For possible violations of the act, the FTC points people to a dedicated INFORM Act reporting link on ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Late deliveries fall under other rules, explained in our guide to late online orders.