YourVoice.Now Summary
Your MoneyCorporate BenefitsBeating a store's online purchase limits would become illegal, and so would reselling what you got that way.
Your Money
Stores often cap how many of a hot item one person can buy. Using bots or other workarounds to beat that cap would become illegal. The FTC could go after it.
Your state's attorney general could sue in federal court for residents. They could ask the court to stop the practice and get money back.
Reselling an item bought by beating a store's purchase limit would be illegal. That holds if you knew, or should have known, how it was bought. It reaches everyday resellers, not just bot operators.
Corporate Benefits
Limits a store posts clearly on its site would gain federal force. The FTC and state attorneys general could sue people who beat them. The store would not have to police its own limits alone.
More about this bill
Stores often cap how many of a hot item one shopper can buy. Beating that cap with bots or other tricks would become illegal. Reselling something you got that way would be illegal too. So would reselling an item you knew, or should have known, was bought that way. That last rule reaches everyday resellers, not just bot operators. The Federal Trade Commission would enforce the new rules. State attorneys general could also sue in federal court. They could seek money back for people in their state. The bill creates no right for you to sue on your own. The bill sets no dollar amount for penalties. It points instead to the penalties already in the Federal Trade Commission Act. Security researchers hunting flaws in these systems would be exempt, if the work aims to improve computer security. No start date is set, so the rules would begin once the bill became law.
Congressional Summary
Stopping Grinch Bots Act of 2025This bill makes it unlawful to use tools such as bots to circumvent a website's security or control measures related to purchasing limits or inventory management.Specifically, the bill makes it unlawful to circumvent a security measure, access control system, or other technological control or measure that a website or online service uses to enforce posted purchasing limits or manage inventory.The bill also prohibits the sale of certain products or services obtained through such a violation.The bill provides for enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general or other authorized state officers.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-12-17
- Date Added
- 2026-09-02
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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