Key Investment Group (KIG) and several affiliated ticket businesses filed a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission Monday, seeking to block what they describe as an imminent, sweeping crackdown by the Federal Trade Commission.
In a 26-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the Baltimore-based broker and its owners argue the FTC is misapplying the 2016 Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act by treating the routine use of multiple Ticketmaster accounts “as if it were the same as running ticket-buying bots.” The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, a finding that the agency’s interpretation is unconstitutionally vague, and an order barring any civil penalties.
Furthermore, they argued that Ticketmaster doesn’t take any meaningful action to prevent multiple accounts from being used – which means there are no security measures being “circumvented.”
“The FTC’s novel interpretation would make many consumers and most companies—including nearly every Fortune 500 company—in violation of the law,” a KIG spokesperson said in a statement accompanying the filing.
‘Imminent’ enforcement threat
According to the complaint, FTC staff told KIG this spring that the agency planned to sue for “tens of millions of dollars” in penalties and other remedies that would effectively shut the company down. KIG maintains it does not use bots and does not exceed posted ticket limits; instead, employees operate multiple legitimate accounts “the same way countless resellers and even ordinary fans do,” the suit says.
The reseller contends Ticketmaster is aware of — and profits from — this practice, syncing the firm’s accounts and paying weekly resale proceeds. Because the primary platform allegedly permits or even facilitates such activity, KIG argues, there is no “security measure” being circumvented as required for a BOTS Act violation.
Ticketmaster was famously found to be working proactively with ticket resale businesses in a 2018 report on the company’s so-called “secret scalper program. In this story, a ticketmaster resale sales rep told a reporter posing as a ticket resale business owner that they company has no issues with resellers having hundreds of accounts – as long as they are selling their tickets with Ticketmaster.
KIG’s suit names FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson and commissioners Melissa Holyoak, Mark Meador and Rebecca Slaughter, as well as the agency itself, as defendants. The company says the case is the first step in an FTC campaign “to shut down the entire secondary-ticket market,” a move it warns would strengthen the “already tight grip” of primary sellers at consumers’ expense.
The action comes four months after President Donald Trump ordered the FTC to “rigorously enforce” the BOTS Act. To date, the agency has announced only three BOTS settlements — all in 2021 and all involving admitted bot users.
Relief requested
Among other claims, KIG seeks:
- A declaratory judgment that its conduct does not violate the BOTS Act
- An injunction barring the FTC from filing the threatened enforcement action or assessing civil penalties
- A ruling that the statute, as applied in this context, is void for vagueness
The case has been assigned to Judge George L. Russell III. The FTC’s response is due 21 days after service of the summons, unless the parties agree to an extension or the agency moves to dismiss.
As of Tuesday morning, there has been no public notice of pending action by the FTC against KIG. An email to the FTC’s Office of Public Affairs seeking comment was not returned by press time Tuesday morning.
Read the full lawsuit complaint:
