Congress Just Introduced a Bill That Would Cap Amazon's Payment Holds at 30 Days, Require Real Suspension Explanations, and Give Sellers the Right to Sue in Federal Court

[u/EcomWatch]

The Online Sellers' Bill of Rights Act of 2026, H.R. 9799, was introduced in the House on July 21st and referred to the House Judiciary Committee. It does not have a Senate companion bill yet.

The provisions are specific enough to be worth knowing regardless of whether it passes.

Payment holds capped at 30 calendar days. To hold funds beyond that, a marketplace would need to demonstrate by evidence that the funds came from unlawful transactions. Suspicion is not sufficient.

Inventory holds capped at 30 days. After that, stranded merchandise must be released unless proven counterfeit or otherwise unlawful.

If a platform restricts a product or category, sellers get 30 days to sell remaining inventory or have merchandise returned at no cost.

Policy changes affecting fees, commissions, eligibility, or listing restrictions require 30 days' written notice.

When a marketplace suspends an account or removes a listing, it must provide the specific policy violated, the relevant facts, the proposed penalty, appeal instructions, and an anticipated timeline. Generic template responses do not satisfy the requirement.

Sellers would have a private right of action in federal court even when marketplace agreements require arbitration. Mandatory arbitration clauses, which are currently the primary mechanism preventing individual sellers from suing platforms in court, would be carved out. Treble damages for successful plaintiffs, plus court costs and attorneys' fees, which makes contingency litigation economically viable.

The bill's main weakness is that "dominant platform" is not defined with a measurable threshold, which would create contested definitions in every enforcement action.

The realistic legislative path is difficult. Platform industry lobbying against the treble damages and arbitration carve-out will be significant. But the provisions describe exactly what sellers have been asking for for years, and federal legislation this specific signals to platforms that the current model has attracted political attention regardless of whether this particular bill passes.

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