President Obama has signed into law a piece of legislation that makes the use of online ticket-buying software a federal offense. The Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act of 2016 was passed by the Senate in November, and by the House last week, referring to the use of ticketing bots as “an unfair and deceptive practice” that violates the Federal Trade Commission Act.
As Consequence of Sound reports, ticketing bots are used to immediately purchase large quantities of tickets to music, sporting and entertainment events, which are then flipped for exorbitant prices on sites like Ticketmaster. The BOTS Act now allows the federal government to file civil suits against online scalpers on behalf of people who were unable to buy tickets.
According Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran, the bill’s Republican sponsor, the BOTS Act will “level the playing field” for normal folks trying to buy tickets at face value.
Source: Consequence of Sound | Image: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
