Better On-line Ticket Sales Act of 2016

Bill: 114-hr-5104
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN-7]
Introduced: 2016-04-28
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Civil actions and liability

Competition and antitrust

Computers and information technology

Consumer affairs

Internet and video services

Internet, web applications, social media

Legal fees and court costs

Retail and wholesale trades
Latest action: action_date: 2016-09-13
text: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Summaries:
action_date: 2016-04-28
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Better On-line Ticket Sales Act of 2016 or the BOTS Act</b></p> <p>This bill prohibits: (1) intentionally using or selling software to circumvent a security measure, access control system, or other control or measure on a ticket seller's Internet website that is used by the seller to ensure equitable consumer access to tickets for any given event; or (2) selling any ticket in interstate commerce knowingly obtained in violation of such prohibition.</p> <p>The Federal Trade Commission shall enforce against violations of such prohibitions, which shall be treated as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act. A person who suffers injury as a result of a violation of these prohibitions may bring a civil action for damages plus $1,000 for each distinct use or sale of software, or sale of a ticket, that caused such injury and reasonable attorney's fees. </p>

action_date: 2016-09-09
action_desc: Reported to House with amendment(s)
text: <p><b>Better On-line Ticket Sales Act of 2016 or the BOTS Act</b></p> <p>(Sec. 2) This bill prohibits the sale of computer software that: (1) is primarily designed to circumvent technology that limits purchases made via an online ticket selling system, (2) has only a limited commercially significant purpose other than for such circumvention, or (3) is marketed to use for such circumvention.</p> <p>The bill also prohibits the use of such circumvention software in violation of a system operator's posted limits on: (1) the quantity of tickets purchased by a single user; (2) the sequence, number, or frequency of transactions; or (3) the geographic location of transactions. </p> <p>In addition, the bill makes it unlawful to resell in commerce tickets that were acquired through such a prohibited use of circumvention software if the reseller participated in, had the ability to control, or should have known about the violation.</p> <p>It shall not be unlawful, however, to create or use software to: (1) investigate or further the enforcement or defense of any alleged violation of this bill, or (2) identify and analyze flaws and vulnerabilities of a computerized event ticketing system if these activities are conducted to advance the state of knowledge in the field of computer system security or to assist in the development of computer security products.</p> <p>Violations shall be treated as unfair and deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act.</p> <p>The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general may enforce against violations.</p>

action_date: 2016-09-12
action_desc: Passed House amended
text: <p>(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on September 9, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)</p> <p><b>Better On-line Ticket Sales Act of 2016 or the BOTS Act</b></p> <p>(Sec. 2) This bill prohibits the sale of computer software that: (1) is primarily designed to circumvent technology that limits purchases made via an online ticket selling system, (2) has only a limited commercially significant purpose other than for such circumvention, or (3) is marketed to use for such circumvention.</p> <p>The bill also prohibits the use of such circumvention software in violation of a system operator's posted limits on: (1) the quantity of tickets purchased by a single user; (2) the sequence, number, or frequency of transactions; or (3) the geographic location of transactions. </p> <p>In addition, the bill makes it unlawful to resell in commerce tickets that were acquired through such a prohibited use of circumvention software if the reseller participated in, had the ability to control, or should have known about the violation.</p> <p>It shall not be unlawful, however, to create or use software to: (1) investigate or further the enforcement or defense of any alleged violation of this bill, or (2) identify and analyze flaws and vulnerabilities of a computerized event ticketing system if these activities are conducted to advance the state of knowledge in the field of computer system security or to assist in the development of computer security products.</p> <p>Violations shall be treated as unfair and deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act.</p> <p>The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general may enforce against violations.</p>

tv_txt: I 114th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5104 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 28, 2016 Mrs. Blackburn (for herself, Mr. Tonko , Mr. Burgess , Mr. Israel , Mr. Tiberi , Mr. Cohen , Mr. DesJarlais , Mr. Cooper , Mr. Byrne , Mr. Nadler , Mr. Bishop of Michigan , Mr. Costello of Pennsylvania , Ms. Jenkins of Kansas , Mr. Harper , Mr. Ross , and Mr. Cárdenas ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To prohibit, as an unfair and deceptive act or practice in commerce, the sale or use of certain software to circumvent control measures used by Internet ticket sellers to ensure equitable consumer access to tickets for any given event, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Better On-line Ticket Sales Act of 2016 or the BOTS Act . 2. Unfair and deceptive acts and practices relating to use of ticket access circumvention software (a) Conduct prohibited It shall be unlawful for any person— (1) to intentionally use or sell software to circumvent a security measure, access control system, or other control or measure on a ticket seller’s Internet website that is used by the seller to ensure equitable consumer access to tickets for any given event; or (2) to sell any ticket in interstate commerce knowingly obtained by that person or another in violation of paragraph (1). (b) Federal Trade Commission Enforcement A violation of subsection (a) shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act ( 15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B) ). The Federal Trade Commission shall enforce this section in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act were incorporated into and made a part of this Act. 3. Civil action Any person who suffers injury as a result of another person’s violation of subsection (a) of section 2, may bring a civil action against such person in a United States district court and may recover from such person damages for such injury plus $1,000 for each distinct use or sale of software in violation of paragraph (1) of such subsection or sale of a ticket in violation of paragraph (2) of such subsection that caused such injury, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.

tv_txt: IB 114th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5104 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AN ACT To prohibit, as an unfair and deceptive act or practice in commerce, the sale or use of certain software to circumvent control measures used by Internet ticket sellers to ensure equitable consumer access to tickets for any given event, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Better On-line Ticket Sales Act of 2016 or the BOTS Act . 2. Unfair and deceptive acts and practices relating to use of ticket access circumvention software (a) Sale of software It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer to sell, in commerce, any computer software, or part thereof, that— (1) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing a technological measure that limits purchases made via a computerized event ticketing system; (2) has only limited commercially significant purpose or use other than to circumvent a technological measure that limits purchases made via a computerized event ticketing system; or (3) is marketed by that person for use in circumventing a technological measure that limits purchases made via a computerized event ticketing system. (b) Use of software It shall be unlawful for any person to use any computer software, or part thereof, described in subsection (a) of this section, to purchase an event ticket via a computerized event ticketing system in violation of the system operator’s posted limits on the sequence or number of transactions, frequency of transactions, or quantity of tickets purchased by a single user of the system, or on the geographic location of any transactions. (c) Resale of tickets It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the practice of reselling in commerce, event tickets acquired in violation of subsection (b) of this section if the person either— (1) participated directly in or had the ability to control the conduct in violation of subsection (b); or (2) knew or should have known that the event tickets were acquired in violation of subsection (b). (d) Definitions As used in this section— (1) the term computerized event ticketing system means a system of selling event tickets, in commerce, via an online interactive computer system that effectively limits the sequence or number of ticket purchase transactions, frequency of ticket purchase transactions, quantity of tickets purchased, or geographic location of any ticket purchase transactions; (2) the term event ticket means a ticket entitling one or more individuals to attend, in person, one or more events to occur on specific dates, times, and geographic locations; and (3) to circumvent a technological measure means to avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, or impair a technological measure, without the authority of the computerized event ticketing system operator. (e) Rule of construction Notwithstanding the prohibitions set forth in subsections (a) and (b), it shall not be unlawful under this section to create or use any computer software, or part thereof, to— (1) investigate or further the enforcement or defense of any alleged violation of this section; or (2) engage in research necessary to identify and analyze flaws and vulnerabilities of a computerized event ticketing system, if these research activities are conducted to advance the state of knowledge in the field of computer system security or to assist in the development of computer security products. (f) Enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission A violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c) shall be treated as an unfair and deceptive act or practice in violation of a regulation issued under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act ( 15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B) ). (g) Enforcement by States (1) Authorization Subject to paragraph (2), in any case in which the attorney general of a State has reason to believe that an interest of the residents of the State has been or is threatened or adversely affected by a violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c), the attorney general of the State may, as parens patriae, bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the State in an appropriate district court of the United States to obtain appropriate relief. (2) Rights of Federal Trade Commission (A) Notice to FTC (i) In general Except as provided in clause (iii), the attorney general of a State shall notify the Federal Trade Commission in writing that the attorney general intends to bring a civil action under paragraph (1) before initiating the civil action against a person for a violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c). (ii) Contents The notification required by clause (i) with respect to a civil action shall include a copy of the complaint to be filed to initiate the civil action. (iii) Exception If it is not feasible for the attorney general of a State to provide the notification required by clause (i) before initiating a civil action under paragraph (1), the attorney general shall notify the Commission immediately upon instituting the civil action. (B) Intervention by the FTC The Federal Trade Commission may— (i) intervene in any civil action brought by the attorney general of a State under paragraph (1); and (ii) upon intervening, be heard on all matters arising in the civil action, and file petitions for appeal of a decision in the civil action. (3) Pending action by the Federal Trade Commission If the Federal Trade Commission institutes a civil action or an administrative action with respect to a violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c), the attorney general of a State may not, during the pendency of such action, bring a civil action under paragraph (1) against any defendant named in the complaint of the Commission for the violation with respect to which the Commission instituted such action.

Passed the House of Representatives September 12, 2016. Karen L. Haas, Clerk.

tv_txt: IIB 114th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5104 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 13, 2016 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation AN ACT To prohibit, as an unfair and deceptive act or practice in commerce, the sale or use of certain software to circumvent control measures used by Internet ticket sellers to ensure equitable consumer access to tickets for any given event, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Better On-line Ticket Sales Act of 2016 or the BOTS Act . 2. Unfair and deceptive acts and practices relating to use of ticket access circumvention software (a) Sale of software It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer to sell, in commerce, any computer software, or part thereof, that— (1) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing a technological measure that limits purchases made via a computerized event ticketing system; (2) has only limited commercially significant purpose or use other than to circumvent a technological measure that limits purchases made via a computerized event ticketing system; or (3) is marketed by that person for use in circumventing a technological measure that limits purchases made via a computerized event ticketing system. (b) Use of software It shall be unlawful for any person to use any computer software, or part thereof, described in subsection (a) of this section, to purchase an event ticket via a computerized event ticketing system in violation of the system operator’s posted limits on the sequence or number of transactions, frequency of transactions, or quantity of tickets purchased by a single user of the system, or on the geographic location of any transactions. (c) Resale of tickets It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the practice of reselling in commerce, event tickets acquired in violation of subsection (b) of this section if the person either— (1) participated directly in or had the ability to control the conduct in violation of subsection (b); or (2) knew or should have known that the event tickets were acquired in violation of subsection (b). (d) Definitions As used in this section— (1) the term computerized event ticketing system means a system of selling event tickets, in commerce, via an online interactive computer system that effectively limits the sequence or number of ticket purchase transactions, frequency of ticket purchase transactions, quantity of tickets purchased, or geographic location of any ticket purchase transactions; (2) the term event ticket means a ticket entitling one or more individuals to attend, in person, one or more events to occur on specific dates, times, and geographic locations; and (3) to circumvent a technological measure means to avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, or impair a technological measure, without the authority of the computerized event ticketing system operator. (e) Rule of construction Notwithstanding the prohibitions set forth in subsections (a) and (b), it shall not be unlawful under this section to create or use any computer software, or part thereof, to— (1) investigate or further the enforcement or defense of any alleged violation of this section; or (2) engage in research necessary to identify and analyze flaws and vulnerabilities of a computerized event ticketing system, if these research activities are conducted to advance the state of knowledge in the field of computer system security or to assist in the development of computer security products. (f) Enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission A violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c) shall be treated as an unfair and deceptive act or practice in violation of a regulation issued under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act ( 15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B) ). (g) Enforcement by States (1) Authorization Subject to paragraph (2), in any case in which the attorney general of a State has reason to believe that an interest of the residents of the State has been or is threatened or adversely affected by a violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c), the attorney general of the State may, as parens patriae, bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the State in an appropriate district court of the United States to obtain appropriate relief. (2) Rights of Federal Trade Commission (A) Notice to FTC (i) In general Except as provided in clause (iii), the attorney general of a State shall notify the Federal Trade Commission in writing that the attorney general intends to bring a civil action under paragraph (1) before initiating the civil action against a person for a violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c). (ii) Contents The notification required by clause (i) with respect to a civil action shall include a copy of the complaint to be filed to initiate the civil action. (iii) Exception If it is not feasible for the attorney general of a State to provide the notification required by clause (i) before initiating a civil action under paragraph (1), the attorney general shall notify the Commission immediately upon instituting the civil action. (B) Intervention by the FTC The Federal Trade Commission may— (i) intervene in any civil action brought by the attorney general of a State under paragraph (1); and (ii) upon intervening, be heard on all matters arising in the civil action, and file petitions for appeal of a decision in the civil action. (3) Pending action by the Federal Trade Commission If the Federal Trade Commission institutes a civil action or an administrative action with respect to a violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c), the attorney general of a State may not, during the pendency of such action, bring a civil action under paragraph (1) against any defendant named in the complaint of the Commission for the violation with respect to which the Commission instituted such action.

Passed the House of Representatives September 12, 2016. Karen L. Haas, Clerk.

tv_txt: IB Union Calendar No. 569 114th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5104 [Report No. 114–733] IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 28, 2016 Mrs. Blackburn (for herself, Mr. Tonko , Mr. Burgess , Mr. Israel , Mr. Tiberi , Mr. Cohen , Mr. DesJarlais , Mr. Cooper , Mr. Byrne , Mr. Nadler , Mr. Bishop of Michigan , Mr. Costello of Pennsylvania , Ms. Jenkins of Kansas , Mr. Harper , Mr. Ross , and Mr. Cárdenas ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce September 9, 2016 Additional sponsors: Mr. McNerney , Mr. Huffman , and Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York September 9, 2016 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 28, 2016 A BILL To prohibit, as an unfair and deceptive act or practice in commerce, the sale or use of certain software to circumvent control measures used by Internet ticket sellers to ensure equitable consumer access to tickets for any given event, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Better On-line Ticket Sales Act of 2016 or the BOTS Act . 2. Unfair and deceptive acts and practices relating to use of ticket access circumvention software (a) Sale of software It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer to sell, in commerce, any computer software, or part thereof, that— (1) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing a technological measure that limits purchases made via a computerized event ticketing system; (2) has only limited commercially significant purpose or use other than to circumvent a technological measure that limits purchases made via a computerized event ticketing system; or (3) is marketed by that person for use in circumventing a technological measure that limits purchases made via a computerized event ticketing system. (b) Use of software It shall be unlawful for any person to use any computer software, or part thereof, described in subsection (a) of this section, to purchase an event ticket via a computerized event ticketing system in violation of the system operator’s posted limits on the sequence or number of transactions, frequency of transactions, or quantity of tickets purchased by a single user of the system, or on the geographic location of any transactions. (c) Resale of tickets It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the practice of reselling in commerce, event tickets acquired in violation of subsection (b) of this section if the person either— (1) participated directly in or had the ability to control the conduct in violation of subsection (b); or (2) knew or should have known that the event tickets were acquired in violation of subsection (b). (d) Definitions As used in this section— (1) the term computerized event ticketing system means a system of selling event tickets, in commerce, via an online interactive computer system that effectively limits the sequence or number of ticket purchase transactions, frequency of ticket purchase transactions, quantity of tickets purchased, or geographic location of any ticket purchase transactions; (2) the term event ticket means a ticket entitling one or more individuals to attend, in person, one or more events to occur on specific dates, times, and geographic locations; and (3) to circumvent a technological measure means to avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, or impair a technological measure, without the authority of the computerized event ticketing system operator. (e) Rule of construction Notwithstanding the prohibitions set forth in subsections (a) and (b), it shall not be unlawful under this section to create or use any computer software, or part thereof, to— (1) investigate or further the enforcement or defense of any alleged violation of this section; or (2) engage in research necessary to identify and analyze flaws and vulnerabilities of a computerized event ticketing system, if these research activities are conducted to advance the state of knowledge in the field of computer system security or to assist in the development of computer security products. (f) Enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission A violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c) shall be treated as an unfair and deceptive act or practice in violation of a regulation issued under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act ( 15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B) ). (g) Enforcement by States (1) Authorization Subject to paragraph (2), in any case in which the attorney general of a State has reason to believe that an interest of the residents of the State has been or is threatened or adversely affected by a violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c), the attorney general of the State may, as parens patriae, bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the State in an appropriate district court of the United States to obtain appropriate relief. (2) Rights of Federal Trade Commission (A) Notice to FTC (i) In general Except as provided in clause (iii), the attorney general of a State shall notify the Federal Trade Commission in writing that the attorney general intends to bring a civil action under paragraph (1) before initiating the civil action against a person for a violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c). (ii) Contents The notification required by clause (i) with respect to a civil action shall include a copy of the complaint to be filed to initiate the civil action. (iii) Exception If it is not feasible for the attorney general of a State to provide the notification required by clause (i) before initiating a civil action under paragraph (1), the attorney general shall notify the Commission immediately upon instituting the civil action. (B) Intervention by the FTC The Federal Trade Commission may— (i) intervene in any civil action brought by the attorney general of a State under paragraph (1); and (ii) upon intervening, be heard on all matters arising in the civil action, and file petitions for appeal of a decision in the civil action. (3) Pending action by the Federal Trade Commission If the Federal Trade Commission institutes a civil action or an administrative action with respect to a violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c), the attorney general of a State may not, during the pendency of such action, bring a civil action under paragraph (1) against any defendant named in the complaint of the Commission for the violation with respect to which the Commission instituted such action.

September 9, 2016 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed