This bill amends the Better Online Ticket Sales Act (BOTS Act). It makes it illegal to use or cause to be used automated applications that bypass posted online ticket purchase rules or disable access controls. The bill requires ticket sellers who run ticketing websites or services to put in place and maintain access control systems and reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards. Ticket sellers must consider their size, activities, customer data sensitivity, and foreseeable security risks, and must oversee third-party service providers that have access to ticketing systems or data.
Ticket sellers must report known incidents of circumvention to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) within a reasonable time and no later than 30 days after discovery. The FTC must create or update a public website to accept consumer complaints within 180 days and publish guidance for ticket sellers within 1 year. Ticket sellers must take reasonable steps to fix causes of circumvention when they learn of them.
The bill gives the FTC authority to bring civil actions for violations and to seek penalties and other relief. Penalties in the bill include minimum amounts: at least $10,000 per day for each day a violation occurs, at least $1,000 per violation, and an additional minimum $10,000 per violation for intentional violations. The bill also requires coordination between the FTC, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and relevant state or local law enforcement on cyberattacks affecting ticketing systems, defines “circumvention,” and directs the FTC to report to Congress within 1 year on enforcement and any limits to its ability to pursue circumvention incidents.
The bill states its purpose is to improve online ticket sales and protect consumers. It adds legal and technical requirements to prevent automated circumvention of posted ticket purchasing rules and requires reporting and corrective actions by ticket sellers.
No publicly available information.