The House passed the TICKET Act 388-24 on Wednesday, which would force ticket sellers to show consumers total prices (including fees) upfront and guarantee refunds when events are canceled or postponed.
The bill would still need to pass the Senate and be signed by the president to become law, but the overwhelming support in the House is a positive sign. The legislation comes after the Ticketmaster fiasco around Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour tickets, where the ticket-selling platform canceled general sales after high demand it later partially blamed on bots. That prompted lawmakers to haul its top exec from its parent company, Live Nation, into a hearing. In the wake of the disaster, The New York Times reported that the Department of Justice was investigating Live Nation over whether it violated antitrust law by abusing its dominance in the live events industry.
Meanwhile, eliminating junk fees has been a key focus of the Biden administration through the president’s competition agenda and executive order and actions by the Federal Trade Commission. Junk fees are the hidden fees that often pop up later in the buying process, like processing fees or service charges that inflate the overall price.
The TICKET Act would add extra protections for consumers seeking to buy tickets online, like banning speculative ticketing or selling a ticket without actually possessing it. It would also prohibit ticketing and resale sites from certain deceptive practices, like using URL names that sound like an official venue, to crack down on fraud.
Disclaimer
The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
The South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service.
In no event shall the South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service. The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components
This article originally appeared here and was republished with permission.
