Congress Joins Battle Against Ticket Bots (csoonline.com)

itwbennett writes: A pair of companion bills now pending in the House and Senate would define the use of bots to buy tickets as an 'unfair and deceptive practice' under the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act. It would also become a federal crime, and create a right of action so that private parties can sue in federal court to recover damages. But if a similar law in Tennessee is any example, making the practice illegal doesn't make it any easier to find the people responsible for the bots. The Tennessean reported a year ago that, 'despite the apparent prevalence of the practice, no one has been prosecuted for this hard-to-prove crime in Davidson County.' This may be just another example of members of Congress not understanding the problem, but some experts say that making the bots illegal is at least a start. 'It helps to shine a light on a problem,' says Rami Essaid, cofounder and CEO of Distil Networks.

Comments

Re: It makes it not quite so impossible to fight b

[Jiro]

I don't think you SHOULD have any legal say about what I do with my tickets I purchase; they're mine

That would apply if you're just hanging the ticket on your wall as a small expensive painting.

If you're using the ticket to gain admission to a venue, the venue isn't yours. You don't own the venue, and the owner of the venue can let in anyone he wants to let in. If he only wants to let in people who purchased tickets without reselling them, that's his prerogative. He has no obligation to let you in just because you bought a ticket from someone else.