This is a letter I recieved from Greg Modica, a disabled veteran and a minority business owner in Arkansas. He too is concerned about SB 470. Hopefully Governor Asa Hutchinson will veto this bill.
“Next week, the Arkansas State Legislature is set to deliberate on SB470, or the “Online Marketplace Consumer Inform Act.” The bill’s authors claim that it will help control organized crime in the Virtual Marketplace, but SB470 actually marks an organized push by the big-box, retail stores to undermine and torpedo small, online business owners. Though SB470 is highly unlikely to change the frequency of bad business online, it does promise to threaten the privacy and safety of thousands of Arkansas online merchants like myself—and possibly put us out of business.
I can sympathize with those who start their businesses from home, because in 2009, I did as much myself. I put my aviation career on hold to move back to be a full-time caregiver for my mother after my dad a WWII Veteran passed. She required around-the-clock care due to cancer, leaving home to work was not an option. So while my mother rested, I launched my own business. Little by little, I was able to grow it into a supply-services business that works with federal, state, and commercial customers. Now we are able to give back to communities by helping entrepreneurs in underserved communities find the resources and networks to start their own businesses. We have expanded to two physical locations, but we still support our employees who need to work from home. When I think about SB470, I wonder whether twelve years ago I would have been deterred by the draconian and unprecedented requirement of publishing my home address and phone number in order to do business online—and I consider myself fortunate that I did not have to make that choice.
One of SB470’s chief provisions would be to require online “high volume” retailers to provide personal data on their pages and listings. The problem with this provision is twofold: one, the bill sets an exceptionally low bar in its definition of “high volume,” and two, the divulgence of personal data represents a critical personal privacy and security threat, particularly to those who run their businesses from home. In our current climate this pose serious safety concerns for our families.
SB470 defines “high volume retailers” as any business that completes 200 separate sales or eclipses $5,000 in sales over a span of two years. Clearly, this metric does not apply solely to businesses doing actual high-volume sales. Selling one item or service every three and a half days, or pulling in about $6.85 a day, does not ring of a full-time gig. Therefore, grouped in with actual “high volume retailers” would be individuals selling product or services as a means to supplement their income, or even hobbyists selling their wares as a labor of love—and, under SB470, they would all be required to divulge their personal information for all to see.
This last point is critical and extremely troubling. A large proportion of small, online business owners like I started out work exclusively out of their homes especially after COVID. Whether earning supplemental or primary income from their online businesses, many can’t afford a physical storefront, and therefore do not have a business address or business telephone number. While until now we have been protected by the security and relative anonymity of email communication, SB470 would require a public broadcast of home addresses and personal telephone numbers.. This kind of invasion of privacy is unprecedented in American commerce and must be immediately condemned and shut down.
So, does counterfeiting still occur in the online realm? Unfortunately, yes, as it does in in-person retail. But would requiring the exposure of personal information prevent counterfeiting? In nearly all cases, absolutely not. It would only work to cripple those looking to make an honest living via the online marketplace.”
I appreciate that Greg reached out to me. There is similar legislation pending on the Federal level. Small business owners need to be aware.