• US Congress passes BOTS Act that bans ticket-buying software
    15 replies, posted
[quote]Using software bots to buy concert tickets will soon be illegal, thanks to a bill passed by Congress yesterday. The Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act makes it illegal to bypass any computer security system designed to limit ticket sales to concerts, Broadway musicals, and other public events with a capacity of more than 200 persons. Violations will be treated as "unfair or deceptive acts" and can be prosecuted by the Federal Trade Commission or the states. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), who sponsored the bill, told The Associated Press that he intends to "level the playing field" for people buying tickets. "The need to end this growing practice is reflected in the bill's widespread support," Moran said. The bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent last week, and the House of Representatives voted yesterday to pass it as well. It now proceeds to President Barack Obama for his signature. Computer programs that automatically buy tickets have been a frustration for the concert industry and fans for a few years now. The issue had wide exposure after a 2013 New York Times story on the issue. Earlier this year, the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman completed an investigation into bots. The New York AG's ticket sales report (PDF) found that the tens of thousands of tickets snatched up by bots were marked up by an average of 49 percent. "I want the thousands of tickets for shows, concerts, and sporting events that are now purchased by bots and resold at higher prices to go into the general market so that you have a chance to get them," wrote Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the hit musical "Hamilton," in a New York Times op-ed in June. "You shouldn’t have to fight robots just to see something you love." The Senate took up the matter a few months ago, holding a September hearing at which Jeffrey Seller, the producer of "Hamilton," testified. Seller told legislators that bots quickly buy up tickets, which are then resold on platforms like StubHub and TicketsNow for big markups.[/quote] [url]http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/12/congress-passes-bots-act-to-ban-ticket-buying-software/[/url]
Good, about time this was done.
what if bots come from outside the US
[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;51501850]what if bots come from outside the US[/QUOTE] There be your loophole. They should all be relocated overseas by the morning. But still run by people in the states, of course., because that's totally legal, right?
They should make it illegal to sell a ticket for more than what the ticket was bought for. Allowing people to buy tickets for events they have no intention of attending and then re-sell the tickets for profit is just encouraging people to use bots to secure tickets to big, high demand events.
[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;51501850]what if bots come from outside the US[/QUOTE] Void the sale of said tickets? Make the tickets invalid that is.
[QUOTE=mcattack1092;51501998]They should make it illegal to sell a ticket for more than what the ticket was bought for. Allowing people to buy tickets for events they have no intention of attending and then re-sell the tickets for profit is just encouraging people to use bots to secure tickets to big, high demand events.[/QUOTE] I remember hearing a while back that Iron Maiden does this thing where your ticket gets tied to your ID so that they can't be resold or something alone those lines to combat ticket scalping. [editline]9th December 2016[/editline] Found the article [URL="http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37438005"]http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37438005[/URL]
Reselling is fine, just regulate the market and make sure tickets are never sold above asking price.
[QUOTE=Blizzerd;51502199]Reselling is fine, just regulate the market and make sure tickets are never sold above asking price.[/QUOTE] impossible
They should force ticket websites to make their sites more reliable during periods of high traffic. My boss used 3 of our pcs this morning to try and get tickets to a concert (was a slow morning anyway) and 1 of them succeeded after about 20mins
[QUOTE=Blizzerd;51502199]Reselling is fine, just regulate the market and make sure tickets are never sold above asking price.[/QUOTE] I'd rather just be able to buy a fucking ticket at regular price. You know, like you're supposed to.
That's some strong acronym usage.
[QUOTE=Blizzerd;51502199]Reselling is fine, just regulate the market and make sure tickets are never sold above asking price.[/QUOTE] uhh do you think the government is magic or something? with a flick of their wand they can just "regulate" all the bad stuff away? how do you think this will work?
Someone in congress wants Hamilton tickets
[QUOTE=Liem;51503600]Someone in congress wants Hamilton tickets[/QUOTE] I was about to post that I wondered if this is because they couldn't get tickets to Hamilton
[QUOTE=Lin-Manuel Miranda]"You shouldn’t have to fight robots just to see something you love."[/QUOTE] Probably the best way he could've said this.
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