CHICAGO – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today requested updated information about the current prevalence of COVID-19-related price-gouging activity and the steps that are being taken to address it from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). In a letter to DOJ’s Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force (Task Force) leader Craig Carpenito, Durbin requested more information on how the DOJ Task Force is working to investigate and prevent price-gouging involving personal protective equipment, medical supplies, sanitizer and cleaning products, household necessities, and more. Durbin also asked for information about the Task Force’s coordination with other federal, state, and local agencies, and about efforts to address profiteers who take advantage of the lack of transparency on online third-party marketplaces to avoid scrutiny and accountability.
“This price gouging hurts consumers, families, businesses, and public entities who are scrambling to protect and sustain themselves in the face of this pandemic,” Durbin wrote. “An effective strategy for combating price-gouging requires close coordination between federal, state, and local authorities as well as responsible cooperation from the online marketplaces that sellers often use for price-gouging schemes… I look forward to working with you to do all we can to combat price gouging during this pandemic.”
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In March, Durbin and U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced legislation to deter the online sale of stolen, counterfeit, price-gouged, and dangerous consumer products by ensuring transparency of high-volume third-party sellers in online retail marketplaces. The Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM Consumers) Act would direct online retail marketplaces that host third-party sellers of consumer products to authenticate the identity of high-volume sellers and ensure that consumers can see basic identification and contact information for these sellers. The bill would also ensure that online marketplaces provide consumers with a mechanism for flagging suspicious marketplace activities, such as price-gouging, by high-volume third party sellers.
Full text of the letter is available here
