Seattle Metropolis Council approves Truthful Meals Supply Invoice to assist eating places

Grocery delivery apps are now required to obtain approval from Seattle restaurants. Photo credit: Louis Hansel on Unsplash.

Seattle City Council in Washington, USA, has approved the Fair Food Delivery Bill, which requires food delivery apps to obtain approval from restaurants before listing on their platform.

The bill was unanimously approved by Council President M. Lorena González and her colleagues on the Seattle City Council.

González said, “During Covids, our small businesses and restaurants faced incredible challenges and used their entrepreneurial insights to transform their business models.

“While some restaurants have been successful with food delivery platforms, other restaurants that have not signed up for these platforms have struggled with being on these apps.

“The Fair Food Delivery Bill ensures that our restaurants are given autonomy over their businesses and must give their consent before they are listed in the apps.”

Under the new Fair Food Delivery Bill, food delivery platforms must now enter into a written agreement before offering take-away or delivery from a Seattle restaurant.

The bill also allows restaurants to end the agreement with a written request that the platforms remove the restaurant from the list within 72 hours.

Violation of the rules could result in a maximum fine of $ 250, and the proceeds from those fines will be used to support small restaurants.

The law comes into force on September 15, 2021.

During the pandemic, the use of food delivery apps increased significantly as more and more users preferred to order food from their favorite restaurants while they stayed at home.

Although many restaurants benefited from these apps, some said they were listed on the platforms without their consent.

Such restaurant owners also said they could not target or contact the platforms to remove their stores from the apps.