Sponsors (2)
The bill aims to protect consumers by blocking automated scalpers and strengthening purchaser-data security and reporting, but it imposes compliance costs and sizable penalties and disclosure risks on ticket sellers and platforms.
Ticket buyers (consumers) will face fewer scalped tickets because platforms must implement controls to block automated bots that bypass purchase limits.
Consumers' purchaser data will be better protected because platforms must implement reasonable security safeguards and conduct vendor assessments, reducing the risk of data breaches.
Consumers can report circumvention incidents to a public FTC portal within 180 days, giving individuals a direct channel to lodge complaints and prompt enforcement attention.
Ticket sellers and platforms face substantial civil penalties (at least $10,000 per day and $1,000 per violation), creating significant financial risk including for inadvertent noncompliance.
Ticket platforms and smaller sellers will incur added compliance costs to implement security, vendor oversight, and reporting systems, which may raise prices or disproportionately burden small businesses.
Mandatory 30‑day reporting to the FTC (with potential information sharing with state attorneys general) could expose companies to public enforcement actions and reputational or legal risks.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Expands the ban on automated ticket-buying tools and requires online ticket sellers to implement access controls, security safeguards, vet vendors, and report circumvention to the FTC.
Introduced April 8, 2025 by Diana Harshbarger · Last progress April 8, 2025
Expands the law against automated ticket-buying tools by banning use of applications that automate purchases to get around posted purchasing rules or technological controls. Requires any business that owns or operates a website or online service selling event tickets to put in place access controls, reasonable security safeguards, vet and require comparable protections from third-party service providers, and report known circumvention incidents to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Also directs the FTC to provide a public consumer complaint mechanism (or adapt an existing one) for ticketing complaints and requires ticket issuers to take steps to improve controls after known circumvention events. The bill focuses on technical and administrative measures to protect ticket sales platforms and buyers from automated circumvention and abusive resale practices.