MAIN Event Ticketing Act

This bill targets ticket-buying “bots” and makes online ticket sellers strengthen their websites to keep ticket sales fair. It bans using automated apps to grab tickets by breaking posted rules or bypassing security tools, like purchase limits or access controls. It also adds a clear definition of “circumvention,” meaning getting around a site’s security or controls.

Ticket sites would have to enforce purchase limits and keep strong security in place. They must set and update reasonable safeguards, make sure their contractors do the same, and fix problems they know about. They must also report known break-ins of these rules to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) quickly, and no later than 30 days after discovery. The FTC must create a public website within 180 days so people can report violations. The FTC can share these reports with state attorneys general . The FTC can take violators to court and seek fines: at least $10,000 per day plus at least $1,000 per violation, with higher fines for intentional violations. Federal, state, and local law enforcement would coordinate with the FTC on cyberattacks against ticket sites, and the FTC will provide guidance and report on enforcement within a year.

• Who is affected:

  • People who buy event tickets online and the websites and apps that sell them, plus their service providers.
  • The FTC and law enforcement agencies that handle online fraud and cyberattacks.

• What changes:

  • Bans using automated apps to dodge ticket site rules or security controls.
  • Requires ticket sites to enforce purchase limits, maintain and update security, oversee vendors, and fix known weaknesses.
  • Requires reporting known rule-breaking to the FTC within 30 days; FTC to launch a public complaint website within 180 days; FTC may share reports with states .
  • Lets the FTC sue and seek fines, with bigger fines for intentional violations.
  • Promotes law-enforcement information sharing on cyberattacks; adds a definition of “circumvention”; FTC guidance and a one-year enforcement report.

• When:

  • Public complaint website: within 180 days of enactment.
  • FTC guidance and enforcement report: within 1 year of enactment .