BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 4487

By: Bhojani

Trade, Workforce & Economic Development

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that the rise of e-commerce as a dominant part of consumer shopping has led to the increased use of bots to amass a large quantity of goods, which in turn limits the available products for consumers and leads to issues like price gouging or fraud. H.B. 4487 seeks to address this issue by prohibiting bot usage in certain online transactions and providing for attorney general enforcement of the prohibition.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 4487 amends the Business & Commerce Code to prohibit a person from using or creating a bot to do the following:

·         purchase clothing on a website or through a software application;

·         use multiple Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, multiple purchaser accounts, or multiple email addresses to purchase clothing on a website or through a software application;

·         circumvent or disable a randomized customer selection system or other sales volume limitation system associated with the sale of clothing on a website or through a software application; or

·         circumvent or disable a security measure, access control system, or other control or measure that is used to facilitate the sale of clothing on a website or through a software application.

The bill defines "bot" for these purposes as any automated software program that performs automatic and repetitive tasks and is designed to impersonate or replicate human activity online, excluding software designed to store and manage passwords or automatically fill editable fields on a website or software application. The bill defines "clothing" as worn apparel for human use, including shoes.

H.B. 4487 authorizes the attorney general to investigate a claim that a person violated the bill's provisions and, on concluding that a person has done so, to bring an action in the state's name to restrain or enjoin the person from further violating the bill's provisions. The bill does the following:

·         makes a person who knowingly violates the bill's prohibition on the use or creation of bots to engage in certain clothing purchases liable for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each violation;

·         authorizes the attorney general, in addition to bringing an action for injunctive relief, to seek restitution and petition a district court for the assessment of such a civil penalty;

·         establishes that every clothing purchase in violation of the bill's provisions constitutes a separate violation for purposes of assessing a civil penalty;

·         caps the civil penalty for a violation of a court order or injunction issued to enforce these provisions at $50,000; and

·         authorizes the attorney general to recover all reasonable costs of bringing an action under these provisions, including court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, and investigation costs.

H.B. 4487 applies only to a purchase that occurs on or after the bill's effective date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.