The Oregon House of Representatives Thursday unanimously passed proposed legislation that would outlaw the use of software “bots” to obtain event tickets.
Such software, which has been highly controversial over the past couple of years, can help users gain an unfair advantage and quickly bypass online security efforts when buying tickets from primary Web sites, such as that of Ticketmaster Entertainment.
“A person may not intentionally sell or use software, the purpose of which is to circumvent, thwart, interfere with or evade a control or measure, including a security measure or an access control system, that an operator or reseller establishes or uses to ensure an equitable distribution, sale or resale of admission tickets for an entertainment event,” House Bill 2673 states.
Earlier in the year when the legislature introduced the bill, it contained language to improve transparency in the ticketing process by requiring promoters, venues and primary ticket companies to disclose the number of tickets available for an event, but that provision was later removed and amended to just carry the bot language.
Oregon currently has no ticket resale laws on its books, according to TicketNews’s exclusive 50-state compendium “Ticket Resale Laws”.
The proposed legislation was nicknamed the “Hannah Montana bill,” after the infamous 2007-08 tour that became a ticketing nightmare for many parents whose children clamored for tickets but were shut out. Two such parents were apparently the proposal’s sponsors, Democratic Rep. Sara Gelser and Republican Rep. Scott Bruun.
Next, the bill moves onto the state Senate for approval before it can reach the governor’s desk for signing.
