The House of Representatives approved bipartisan legislation on Monday introduced by U.S Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) to combat unfair and deceptive practices in online ticket sales.
The Better Online Ticket Sales Act (BOTS), H.R. 5104, introduced by Blackburn and U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY), would take steps to prevent hacking software, also known as “bots,” from sidestepping security measures used by online ticketing sites.
“For years ticket scalpers have been taking advantage of computer hacking software (bots) to overwhelm online ticketing websites with requests,” Blackburn said. “The BOTS Act will make it an unfair and deceptive practice to use a bot to violate the terms and conditions of a ticketing site and will allow the FTC to take action against online scalpers. These anti-consumer tactics have no place in our society and it’s time that we take action to protect fans of live entertainment. I encourage my Senate colleagues to pass this bi-partisan legislation immediately.”
Consumers work hard for money used to buy tickets to performances and sporting events, Tonko said, and they shouldn’t be prevented from buying them by hacking software.
“It’s not right,” Tonko said. “This legislation puts a stop to this unseemly practice at its root, prohibiting use or sale of bot software and empowering consumers to fight back against price manipulators in the ticket industry. I thank Rep. Blackburn for her leadership on this issue, as well as New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has already begun to crack down on this problem at the state level.”