A newly-proposed Pennsylvania law would ban “bots” from purchasing tickets.
Pennsylvania State Representative Steve Malagari (D-Montgomery) proposed “House Bill 1378,” which aims to prevent people from using “bots” to purchase tickets online to resell.
The bill would make it unlawful for anyone to circumvent a security measure and access control systems to surpass purchasing limits online. It also will allow venues, artists, and other rights holders to take civil action against anyone using bots, including damages, legal fees, and up to $1,000 per ticket.
According to ABC 27, Malagari said this software allows people to purchase tickets in bulk, “preventing an actual human consumer from really actually having that opportunity to purchase,” which then are posted on resale sites and “charge an exorbitant higher percentage above the market list price of that ticketing event.”
However, it’s not easy to distinguish who is and isn’t using bots.
“It’s really hard to make that differentiation right now, and that’s where law enforcement has to come in and that’s where tech companies will need to assist in this, and also the venues along with the entertainers will need to make sure that they have the ability to identify,” Malagari said, noting, “it’s as well really on the resale platforms that need to make sure that they’re doing the right thing.”
Following the Taylor Swift Eras Tour ticketing fiasco, Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, seeking information about combating the use and operation of bots online. Blackburn and Blumenthal were co-signers on the 2016 Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, signed into law by former President Barack Obama.
Although the use of bots is now illegal, the pair of senators asked the FTC a round of questions, including why there has only been one enforcement action taken since the law was signed in 2016. The lack of violations raises the question of why lawmakers are focusing on this sole issue, rather than other ticketing tactics.
