[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2957 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2957
To protect consumers from unfair and deceptive acts and practices in
connection with primary and secondary ticket sales, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 27 (legislative day, September 22), 2023
Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Ms. Hirono, and Mr. Markey) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect consumers from unfair and deceptive acts and practices in
connection with primary and secondary ticket sales, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Better Oversight of Stub Sales and
Strengthening Well Informed and Fair Transactions for Audiences of
Concert Ticketing Act of 2023'' or the ``BOSS and SWIFT ACT of 2023''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Ancillary charge.--The term ``ancillary charge''--
(A) means any fee that must be paid in order to
secure a ticket from a primary ticket seller or
secondary ticket sales marketplace, including a service
fee, convenience charge, delivery and logistics fee,
and any other mandatory charge; and
(B) does not include taxes.
(2) Base price.--The term ``base price'' means the price
charged for a ticket other than any ancillary charge and tax.
(3) Box office.--The term ``box office'' means a physical
location where tickets are offered for primary sale.
(4) Bundled series tickets.--The term ``bundled series
tickets'' means a package of tickets for multiple events that
are part of the same entertainment series.
(5) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(6) Domain name.--The term ``domain name'' means a globally
unique, hierarchical reference to an internet host or service,
which is assigned through centralized internet naming
authorities, and which is comprised of a series of character
strings separated by periods, with the right most string
specifying the top of the hierarchy.
(7) Primary sale.--The term ``primary sale'' means, with
regards to a ticket, the initial sale of a ticket.
(8) Primary ticket seller.--The term ``primary ticket
seller'' means an owner or operator of a venue or a sports
team, a manager or provider of an event, or a provider of
ticketing services (or an agent of such owner, operator,
manager, or provider) that engages in the primary sale of
tickets for an event.
(9) Purchaser.--The term ``purchaser'' means any person who
purchases a ticket from a primary ticket seller or a secondary
ticket seller, or on a secondary ticket sales marketplace.
(10) Resale; secondary sale.--The terms ``resale'' or
``secondary sale'' means, with regards to a ticket, any sale of
a ticket that is not a primary sale.
(11) Secondary ticket sales marketplace.--The term
``secondary ticket sales marketplace'' means a business,
including a primary ticket seller, that operates or provides a
website, software application for a mobile device, or any other
digital platform, whose purpose is to resell or facilitate the
resale of tickets to purchasers.
(12) Secondary ticket seller.--The term ``secondary ticket
seller'' means an individual, group of individuals, or company,
including a primary ticket seller, who engages in the resale or
secondary sale of tickets.
(13) Ticket.--The term ``ticket'' means a printed,
electronic, or other type of evidence of the right for
admission to a sporting event, theater, musical performance, or
place of public amusement of any kind, including bundled series
tickets.
(14) Total cost of the ticket.--The term ``total cost of
the ticket'' means the base price of the ticket and any
ancillary charge.
(15) URL.--The term ``URL'' means the uniform resource
locator for an internet website.
SEC. 3. TRANSPARENCY OF MARKETING, DISTRIBUTION, AND PRICING BY TICKET
SELLERS.
A primary ticket seller, secondary ticket seller, and secondary
ticket sales marketplace shall do the following:
(1) Disclose clearly and conspicuously the total cost of
the ticket, from the first time a ticket price is displayed and
anytime thereafter.
(2) Provide the purchaser before purchase an option to view
the base price of the ticket with any ancillary charge and tax
itemized.
(3) Display the total cost of the ticket in any price quote
and advertisement that includes the ticket price.
(4) Not change the total cost of the ticket during the
purchase process unless there is a clear and conspicuous notice
that the total cost of the ticket has changed.
(5) If a ticket is not delivered (except for a case in
which there is nondelivery due to a cause beyond reasonable
control of the seller, including a natural disaster, civil
disturbance, or otherwise unforeseeable impediment) provide the
purchaser, at the option of the purchaser, at minimum--
(A) a full refund for the total cost of the ticket
and any tax; or
(B) subject to availability, a replacement ticket
in a comparable or upgraded location.
(6) Disclose clearly and conspicuously whether any given
ticket is being offered as a primary sale or secondary sale.
(7) Disclose clearly and conspicuously the guarantee or
refund policy, including whether any ancillary charge and tax
will be refunded to the purchaser, before the completion of the
sale of a ticket.
(8) Prohibit the design, modification, or manipulation of a
user interface with the purpose or substantial effect of
obscuring, subverting, or impairing user autonomy, decision
making, or choice.
(9) Not knowingly sell a ticket for the same seat to more
than one person.
(10) Report to the Commission any actual or constructive
knowledge of activity that may be in violation of the BOTS Act
of 2016 (15 U.S.C. 45c; Public Law 114-274).
SEC. 4. PRIMARY TICKET SELLER REQUIREMENTS.
A primary ticket seller shall do the following:
(1) Disclose clearly and conspicuously on the website of
the seller and at the box office of the venue where the event
will be held, the total number and total cost of tickets that
will be offered for sale to the general public by the seller
not less than 7 days before the date on which tickets are made
available for primary sale.
(2) Not restrict or hinder the ability of a purchaser who
has purchased a ticket from a primary ticket seller from--
(A) reselling any such ticket independently of the
primary ticket seller or any secondary ticket sales
marketplace owned or affiliated with the primary ticket
seller; and
(B) reselling such ticket on the secondary ticket
sales marketplace the purchaser chooses.
(3) Not require a minimum or maximum price for the resale
of any ticket purchased from a primary ticket seller.
(4) Not sanction or deny a purchaser admission to an event,
deny rights to bundled series tickets or the renewal thereof,
or otherwise discriminate against a purchaser on the basis that
the purchaser resold a ticket, gifted a ticket, or purchased a
resold ticket.
SEC. 5. SECONDARY TICKET SELLER AND SECONDARY TICKET SALES MARKETPLACE
REQUIREMENTS.
A secondary ticket seller or secondary ticket sales marketplace
shall comply with the following requirements:
(1) If a secondary ticket seller does not control the
ticket at the time the ticket is offered for sale--
(A) the secondary ticket seller shall provide a
clear and conspicuous statement on the initial ticket
listing that the secondary ticket seller does not
control the ticket and cannot guarantee that the seller
will be able to obtain the ticket; and
(B) the secondary ticket sales marketplace shall
implement and maintain a mechanism on the platform of
the marketplace to clearly and conspicuously display
the statement required in subparagraph (A).
(2) A secondary ticket sales marketplace shall provide a
clear and conspicuous explanation of how to obtain a refund of
the total cost of the ticket and any tax if the purchaser
receives a ticket that does not match the description of the
ticket provided by the secondary ticket seller.
(3) A secondary ticket sales marketplace shall disclose
clearly and conspicuously to a purchaser when the secondary
ticket sales marketplace is also the primary ticket seller for
a venue, team, or artist associated with the event.
(4) A secondary ticket sales marketplace shall disclose
clearly and conspicuously upon offering a ticket for resale--
(A) the delivery method and the delivery timing;
and
(B) the precise section and row of the seat or
space to which the ticket would entitle the bearer, or,
if information about the precise section and row of the
seat or space is not available, descriptive information
about the location of the seat or space, such as a
description of a section or other area within the venue
where the seat or space is located.
(5) A secondary ticket sales marketplace--
(A) shall provide a clear and conspicuous
statement, before a visitor creates an account with the
secondary ticket sales marketplace or selects a ticket,
that the marketplace is engaged in the secondary sale
of tickets and is not affiliated or endorsed by a
venue, team, or artist, as the case may be, unless the
marketplace has the express written consent of the
venue, team, or artist, as applicable; and
(B) shall not use a domain name, or any subdomain
thereof, in the URL of the marketplace that contains--
(i) the name of a specific team, league, or
venue where concerts, sports, or other live
entertainment events are held, unless
authorized by the owner of the name;
(ii) the name of the exhibition or
performance or of another event described in
clause (i), including the name of a person,
team, performance, group, or entity scheduled
to perform at any such venue or event, unless
authorized by the owner of the name;
(iii) any trademark not owned by the
secondary ticket sales marketplace, including
any trademark owned by an authorized agent or
partner of the venue or event identified in
clauses (i) and (ii); or
(iv) any name substantially similar to
those described in clauses (i) and (ii),
including any misspelling of any name described
in those clauses.
(6) Shall not permit the unauthorized secondary sale of a
ticket by an individual employee of any venue, primary ticket
seller, team, artist, promoter, secondary ticket sales
marketplace, or box office, that is directly involved in
hosting, promoting, performing in, or selling tickets if such
secondary sale--
(A) is for a higher total cost than the total cost
in the primary sale of the ticket; or
(B) is made to any third party and the employee has
actual knowledge, or knowledge fairly implied on the
basis of objective circumstances, that the third party
intends to sell the ticket for a higher total cost than
the total cost in the primary sale of the ticket.
SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Federal Trade Commission.--A violation of sections 3, 4, or 5
of this Act, or any rule prescribed pursuant to this Act, is
enforceable 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 Commission shall
enforce this Act 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. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the authority
of the Commission under any other law.
(b) State Attorneys General.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (6), in
any case in which the attorney general of a State has reason to
believe that an interest of the residents of that State has
been or is threatened or adversely affected by the engagement
of any person in a practice that violates a rule prescribed
pursuant to this Act, the State, as parens patriae, may bring a
civil action on behalf of the residents of the State in an
appropriate district court of the United States or other court
of competent jurisdiction to--
(A) enjoin that practice;
(B) enforce compliance with the rule;
(C) obtain civil penalties;
(D) obtain damages, restitution, or other
compensation on behalf of residents of the State; and
(E) obtain such other relief as the court may
consider to be appropriate.
(2) Notice.--The State shall serve written notice to the
Commission of any civil action under paragraph (1) at least 60
days prior to initiating such civil action. The notice shall
include a copy of the complaint to be filed to initiate such
civil action, except that if it is not feasible for the State
to provide such prior notice, the State shall provide notice
immediately upon instituting such civil action.
(3) Intervention by ftc.--Upon receiving the notice
required by paragraph (2), the Commission may intervene in such
civil action and upon intervening--
(A) be heard on all matters arising in such civil
action;
(B) remove the action to the appropriate United
States district court; and
(C) file petitions for appeal of a decision in such
civil action.
(4) Savings clause.--Nothing in this subsection shall
prevent the attorney general of a State from exercising the
powers conferred on the attorney general by the laws of such
State to conduct investigations or to administer oaths or
affirmations or to compel the attendance of witnesses or the
production of documentary and other evidence. Nothing in this
section shall prohibit the attorney general of a State, or
other authorized State officer, from proceeding in State or
Federal court on the basis of an alleged violation of any civil
or criminal statute of that State.
(5) Venue; service of process; joinder.--In a civil action
brought under paragraph (1)--
(A) the venue shall be a judicial district in which
the defendant or a related party is found, is an
inhabitant, or transacts business, or wherever venue is
proper under section 1391 of title 28, United States
Code;
(B) process may be served without regard to the
territorial limits of the district or of the State in
which the civil action is instituted; and
(C) a person who participated with a defendant or
related party in an alleged violation that is being
litigated in the civil action may be joined in the
civil action without regard to the residence of the
person.
(6) Preemptive action by ftc.--Whenever a civil action or
an administrative action has been instituted by or on behalf of
the Commission for violation of any rule described under
paragraph (1), no State may, during the pendency of such action
instituted by or on behalf of the Commission, institute a civil
action under paragraph (1) against any defendant named in the
complaint in such action for violation of any rule as alleged
in such complaint.
(7) Award of costs and fees.--If a State prevails in any
civil action under paragraph (1), the State can recover
reasonable costs and attorney fees.
(c) Private Right of Action.--Any person who suffers injury as a
result of another person's violation of a rule prescribed pursuant to
section 3(1) or 4(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 requirement or prohibition set
forth in such sections that such person violated with respect to a
ticket sold to the person bringing such action, and reasonable
attorneys' fees and costs.
SEC. 7. NONPREEMPTION.
Nothing in this Act shall affect the authority of any State or
local government to establish or continue in effect a provision of law
of the State or local government relating to the regulation of the
resale of tickets to events or the pricing of such tickets for resale,
except to the extent that such provision is inconsistent with this Act
or a regulation promulgated under this Act, and then only to the extent
of the inconsistency. A provision of law of a State or local government
is not inconsistent with this Act or a regulation promulgated under
this Act if such provision provides equal or greater protection to
purchasers than the protection provided under this Act or such
regulation.
SEC. 8. FTC STUDY OF TICKET MARKET.
(a) Effect of BOTS Act of 2016.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to
Congress a report on the effect of the enforcement actions by the
Commission since the date of the enactment of the BOTS Act of 2016 (15
U.S.C. 45c; Public Law 114-274) on the ticket market, including the
following:
(1) Any enforcement action taken since such date.
(2) How the Commission collects evidence of potential
violations of the BOTS Act of 2016.
(3) Any recommendation to improve enforcement of the BOTS
Act of 2016, including whether additional regulations may be
needed to encourage reporting by primary ticket sellers,
secondary ticket sellers, and secondary ticket sales
marketplaces of activity that may be in violation of the BOTS
Act of 2016.
(b) Effect of This Act.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress a
report on the effect of this Act on the ticket market, including the
following:
(1) Any enforcement action taken since such date.
(2) How the Commission collects evidence of potential
violations of this Act.
(3) Any recommendation to improve enforcement of this Act,
including whether additional regulations may be needed to
encourage reporting of activity that may be in violation of
this Act.
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