Introduced on May 12, 2025, the “Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act” aims to prohibit payment card networks and covered entities from requiring the use of or assigning merchant category codes that distinguish a firearms retailer from a general merchandise retailer or sporting goods retailer.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act’.

(a) Definitions.—In this section:

• (1) Ammunition. — The term ‘ammunition’ has the meaning given the term in section 921(a)(17)(A) of title 18, United States Code, as applied to a firearm, as defined in paragraph (3).
• (2) Covered entity. — The term ‘covered entity’ means any entity that establishes a relationship with—
• (A) a merchant for the purposes of processing credit, debit, or prepaid transactions; or
• (B) another entity that establishes a relationship with a merchant for the purposes of processing credit, debit, or prepaid transactions.

(c) Firearms retailer. — The term ‘firearms retailer’ means a person or entity engaged in the lawful business of selling or trading:

• Firearms;
• Ammunition to be used in firearms.

(d) Merchant category code. — The term ‘merchant category code’ means a multi-digit code that is issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for standardization purposes.

(b) Prohibitions relating to merchant category codes. —

• (1) Payment card networks. — A payment card network may not require a firearms retailer to use, nor may it require a covered entity to assign to a firearms retailer, a merchant category code that distinguishes the firearms retailer from a general merchandise retailer or a sporting goods retailer.
• (2) Covered entities. — Neither a covered entity, nor any agent of a covered entity, may assign to a firearms retailer any merchant category code that distinguishes the firearms retailer from a general merchandise retailer or a sporting goods retailer.

(c) Enforcement. —

• (1) In general. — The Attorney General shall—
• (A) enforce this section, including by conducting investigations of potential violations of this section; and
• (B) not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, establish a process for a person, including a firearms retailer, to submit to the Attorney General a complaint relating to an alleged violation of this section.

(2) Investigation. — The Attorney General shall investigate each complaint received through the processes established under paragraph (1)(B).

• (3) Written notice. — If the Attorney General determines after conducting an investigation that a payment card network or covered entity has violated this section, the Attorney General shall send to that payment card network or covered entity, as applicable, written notice of that violation that requires the payment card network or covered entity to remedy the violation not later than 30 days after the date on which the payment card network or covered entity receives that notice.

(d) Preemption. — Any law of a State or local government regulating merchant category codes for firearm retailers is hereby preempted by this section.

(e) No private right of action. — Nothing in this section may be construed as establishing a private right of action.

(f) Report. — Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report that:

• (1) for the year covered by the report, identifies the total number of investigations undertaken by the Attorney General under this section, whether initiated by the Attorney General or through a complaint received through the process established under subsection (c)(1)(B);
• (2) includes a summary of each investigation described in paragraph (1), including the disposition of each such investigation; and
• (3) provides any available data and analysis regarding the effectiveness of this Act.