Blackburn, Tonko Work on Bipartisan Effort to Level Online Ticket Sales Playing Field for Fans of Live Entertainment

Congressman Marsha Blackburn

7th District of Tennessee

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) commended passage of H.R. 5104—The Better Online Ticket Sales Act (BOTS).

This legislation makes the use of computer hacking software (BOTS) to circumvent security measures employed by ticketing sites an “unfair and deceptive practice” under the Federal Trade Commission Act.

“For years ticket scalpers have been taking advantage of computer hacking software (BOTS) to overwhelm on-line ticketing websites with requests,” said Blackburn.

“The BOTS Act will make it an unfair and deceptive practice to use a bot to violate the terms and conditions of a ticketing site and will allow the FTC to take action against online scalpers. These anti-consumer tactics have no place in our society and it’s time that we take action to protect fans of live entertainment. I encourage my Senate colleagues to pass this bi-partisan legislation immediately,” stated Blackburn.

“People work hard and save money to see a performance or a game, and they shouldn’t be prohibited from buying a ticket online because a computer program beats them to the punch. It’s not right. This legislation puts a stop to this unseemly practice at its root, prohibiting use or sale of bot software and empowering consumers to fight back against price manipulators in the ticket industry. I thank Representative Blackburn for her leadership on this issue, as well as New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has already begun to crack down on this problem at the state level,” said Tonko.