[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3457 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3457
To promote fairness in the sale of event tickets.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 7, 2023
Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Ms. Klobuchar, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Welch, Mr.
Wicker, and Mr. Lujan) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote fairness in the sale of event tickets.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Fans First Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Ensuring ticketing market integrity.
Sec. 4. Strengthening the BOTS Act.
Sec. 5. Enforcement by the Commission.
Sec. 6. Enforcement by States.
Sec. 7. Severability.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Affirmative express consent.--The term ``affirmative
express consent'' means an affirmative act by a person that
clearly communicates that person's freely given, specific, and
unambiguous authorization.
(2) Ancillary fee.--The term ``ancillary fee'' means any
additional charge added to the face value of an event ticket,
excluding taxes.
(3) Artist.--The term ``artist'' means any performer,
musician, comedian, producer, ensemble, or production entity of
a theatrical production, sports team owner, or similar
individual or entity that contracts with an event organizer to
put on an event.
(4) Clearly and conspicuously.--The term ``clearly and
conspicuously'' means, with respect to a disclosure, that the
disclosure is displayed in a manner that is difficult to miss
and easily understandable, including in the following ways:
(A) In the case of a visual disclosure, its size,
contrast, location, the length of time it appears, and
other characteristics, stand out from any accompanying
text or other visual elements so that it is easily
noticed, read, and understood.
(B) The disclosure must be unavoidable.
(C) The disclosure must use diction and syntax
understandable to ordinary consumers and must appear in
each language in which the representation that requires
the disclosure appears.
(D) The disclosure must not be contradicted or
mitigated by, or inconsistent with, anything else in
the communication.
(5) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(6) Event.--
(A) In general.--The term ``event'' means a live
activity described in subparagraph (B)--
(i) that is taking place in a venue;
(ii) that is open to the general public;
and
(iii)(I) that is promoted, advertised, or
marketed in interstate commerce; or
(II) for which event tickets are
sold or distributed in interstate
commerce.
(B) Activities described.--The activities described
in this subparagraph are any--
(i) live concert,
(ii) theatrical performance;
(iii) sporting event;
(iv) comedy show; or
(v) similarly scheduled activity taking
place in a venue.
(C) Exempted events.--Such term shall not include a
live activity described in subparagraph (B) that is--
(i) put on by a religious organization for
non-commercial purposes;
(ii) put on by a K-12 school; or
(iii) a non-sports-related event put on by
a postsecondary school or not-for-profit entity
in which the artists are primarily students.
(7) Event organizer.--The term ``event organizer'' means,
with respect to an event, the person (such as the operator of a
venue, the sponsor or promoter of an event, a sports team
participating in an event or a league whose teams are
participating in an event, a theater company, musical group, or
similar participant in an event, or an agent for any such
person) that--
(A) is primarily responsible for the financial risk
associated with the event;
(B) makes event tickets initially available,
including by contracting with a primary seller; and
(C)(i) is responsible for organizing, promoting,
producing, or presenting an event; or
(ii) in the case of an event for which tickets are
sold, holds the rights to present the event.
(8) Event ticket.--The term ``event ticket'' means any
manifested physical, electronic, or other form of a
certificate, document, voucher, token, or other evidence
indicating that a person has--
(A) a license to enter an event venue or occupy a
particular seat or area in an event venue with respect
to one or more events; or
(B) an entitlement to purchase such a license with
respect to one or more future events.
(9) Face value.--The term ``face value'' means, with
respect to an event ticket, the initial or acquisition price
for the primary sale of the event ticket, exclusive of any
taxes or ancillary fees.
(10) Fan club program.--The term ``fan club program'' means
a membership-based program, primarily established by venues,
artists, or performers to offer pre-sale opportunities offered
before public on-sale of tickets.
(11) Primary sale.--The term ``primary sale'' means, with
respect to a particular event ticket, the initial sale of that
event ticket by or on behalf of the event organizer, or the
sale of an event ticket that was returned to the primary seller
or event organizer after its initial sale and is sold by or on
behalf of the event organizer under the same terms as such
initial sale.
(12) Primary seller.--The term ``primary seller'' means,
with respect to an event ticket, any person who has the right
to sell the event ticket prior to or at the primary sale of the
ticket, including the event organizer, or any person that
provides services to conduct or facilitate the primary sale of
event tickets by or on behalf of the event organizer.
(13) Reseller.--The term ``reseller'' means a person who
sells or offers for sale, other than through a primary sale, an
event ticket. That a reseller is also an event organizer or a
primary seller does not exempt the reseller from this
definition.
(14) Secondary sale.--The term ``secondary sale'' means any
sale of an event ticket other than the primary sale of the
event ticket, and does not include the sale of a ticket
returned to a primary seller.
(15) Secondary ticketing exchange.-- The term ``secondary
ticketing exchange'' means any website, software application,
or other digital platform that facilitates or executes the
secondary sale of an event ticket. That a secondary ticketing
exchange is also an event organizer or a primary seller does
not exempt the secondary ticketing exchange from this
definition.
(16) Seller.--The term ``seller'' means any primary seller,
secondary ticketing exchange, reseller, or any person that
sells or makes available for sale an event ticket to the
public.
(17) Total event ticket price.--The term ``total event
ticket price'' means, with respect to an event ticket, the
total cost of the event ticket, including the face value price
and any ancillary fees but excluding taxes.
(18) URL.--The term ``URL'' means the Uniform Resource
Locator associated with an internet website.
(19) Venue.--The term ``venue'' means a physical space at
which an event takes place.
SEC. 3. ENSURING TICKETING MARKET INTEGRITY.
(a) Ban on Deceptive URLs and Improper Use of Intellectual
Property.--
(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for a secondary
ticketing exchange or reseller, or the operator of any website
purporting to sell or offer for sale event tickets that links
or redirects to a secondary ticketing exchange or reseller,
to--
(A) use any artist name, venue name, or event
organizer name, graphic, marketing logo, image or other
intellectual property of the artist, venue, or event
organizer including any proprietary resemblance of the
venue where an event shall occur in promotional
materials, social media promotions, or URLs of the
secondary ticketing exchange, reseller, or website
without the prior authorization of the respective
artist, venue, or event organizer under the terms of
agreement between the artist, venue, or event organizer
and the secondary ticketing exchange, reseller, or
website; or
(B) state or imply that the secondary ticketing
exchange, reseller, or website is affiliated with or
endorsed by a venue, team, or artist, as applicable,
including by using words like ``official'' in
promotional materials, social media promotions, search
engine optimization, paid advertising, URLs, or search
engine monetization unless the secondary ticketing
exchange, reseller, or website has the express written
consent of the venue, team, or artist, as applicable.
(2) Permitted use.--Paragraph (1) shall not prohibit a
secondary ticketing exchange or reseller from using text
containing the name of an artist, venue, or event organizers to
describe an event and identify the location at which the event
will occur, or provide information identifying the space within
the venue that an event ticket would entitle the bearer to
occupy for an event.
(b) Speculative Ticketing Ban.--
(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for a reseller to
sell, offer for sale, or advertise for sale an event ticket
unless the seller has actual or constructive possession of the
event ticket.
(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed to prohibit any person from offering a service to
a consumer to obtain an event ticket on behalf of the consumer
provided that the person--
(A) does not market or list such service as an
event ticket;
(B) lists the price for such service separately
from the total event ticket price paid by the service
provider for the event ticket in any advertisement,
marketing, price list, social media promotion, or other
interface that displays a price for such service;
(C) maintains a clear, distinct, and easily
discernible separation between such service and event
tickets through unavoidable visual demarcation that
persists throughout the entire service selection and
purchasing process;
(D) clearly and conspicuously discloses prior to
selection of the service that such service is not an
event ticket and that the purchase of such service does
not guarantee a ticket to such event;
(E) shall not obtain tickets through any fan club
program;
(F) shall not obtain more tickets in each
transaction than the numerical limitations for tickets
set by the venue and artist for each respective event;
and
(G) in the event the service is unable to obtain
the specified event ticket purchased through the
service for the consumer, provides the consumer that
purchased the service, within a reasonable amount of
time--
(i) a full refund for the total cost of the
service to obtain an event ticket on behalf of
the consumer; or
(ii) subject to availability, a replacement
event ticket in the same or a comparable
location with the approval of the consumer.
(c) Requirements for the Sale of Event Tickets.--It shall be
unlawful for any seller to sell or offer for sale an event ticket in or
affecting commerce, unless the seller does the following:
(1) All-in pricing.--The seller clearly and conspicuously--
(A) displays the total event ticket price in any
advertisement, marketing, price list, social media
promotion, or other interface that displays a price for
the event ticket; and
(B) discloses to any individual who seeks to
purchase an event ticket the total event ticket price
at the time the ticket is first displayed to the
individual and anytime thereafter throughout the ticket
purchasing process, including an itemized breakdown of
the face value of the event ticket and all applicable
taxes and ancillary fees.
(2) Ticket and refund information.--The seller discloses to
any individual who seeks to purchase an event ticket--
(A) the space within the venue that the event
ticket would entitle the bearer to occupy for the
event, whether that is general admission or the
specific seat or section, at the initial point of
ticket selection by the purchaser;
(B) the seller's refund policies and how to obtain
a refund from the seller if--
(i) the purchaser receives an event ticket
that does not match the description of the
ticket provided to the purchaser at the point
of purchase;
(ii) the event is canceled or postponed;
(iii) the event ticket does not or would
not grant the purchaser admission to the event;
(iv) the event ticket is counterfeit; or
(v) the event ticket was resold in
violation of the terms and conditions
established by the event organizer or its
primary seller;
(C) the date and means of delivery by which the
event ticket will be delivered to the purchaser;
(D) any restrictions on resale of the event ticket
under the terms and conditions of the event ticket; and
(E) a link to the website created by the Commission
under section 5(d) through which individuals may report
violations of this Act to the Commission.
(3) Disclosure of terms and conditions.--The seller
discloses or provides a link to the full terms and conditions
of the event ticket to any individual who seeks to purchase an
event ticket prior to the point of purchase.
(4) Proof of purchase.--If the event ticket is an
electronic ticket, the seller delivers written proof of
purchase to the purchaser as soon as is practicable and no
later than 24 hours following the purchase of the event ticket,
which shall include--
(A) the date and time of the purchase of the event
ticket;
(B) the face value and total purchase price of the
event ticket, including all taxes and ancillary fees;
(C) the space within the venue that the event
ticket would entitle the bearer to occupy for the
event, whether that is general admission or the
specific seat or section;
(D) the date on which and the means by which the
event ticket will be delivered to the purchaser; and
(E) any restrictions on resale of the event ticket
under the terms and conditions of the event ticket.
(5) Refund requirements.--
(A) In general.--In the event of an event
cancellation, a seller shall provide a purchaser of an
event ticket from that seller, at the option of the
purchaser, at a minimum a full refund of the total
event ticket price plus any taxes paid by the
purchaser.
(B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply
where an event is canceled due to a cause beyond the
reasonable control of the event organizer, including a
natural disaster, civil disturbance, or otherwise
unforeseeable impediment.
(d) Additional Requirements for Secondary Sales.--
(1) Disclosures to artist and venue.--
(A) In general.--A secondary ticketing exchange
shall, in connection with each secondary sale of an
event ticket facilitated or executed by the exchange,
provide at a minimum the ticket purchaser the option to
opt-in by affirmative express consent to provide the
artist and venue the purchaser's name, email address,
and phone number for the sole purposes of--
(i) ensuring the safety and security of the
artist, venue staff or property, event
attendees, or any other individual or property
associated with the event; or
(ii) allowing the artist or venue to
provide the purchaser with information about
event postponements or cancellations.
(B) Provision of information.--If a purchaser
provides the affirmative express consent described in
subparagraph (A) to a secondary ticketing exchange, the
exchange shall provide the information described in
such subparagraph to the artist and venue.
(C) Prohibition on unauthorized uses.--It shall be
unlawful for an artist or venue to use information
disclosed to the artist or venue in accordance with
this paragraph from any purpose other than the purposes
described in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A),
including for promotional purposes.
(D) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this
paragraph shall be construed to conflict with or
preempt existing data privacy laws.
(2) Notice of secondary sale.--It shall be unlawful for a
secondary ticketing exchange to--
(A) facilitate or execute the secondary sale of an
event ticket unless the secondary ticketing exchange
clearly and conspicuously discloses--
(i) that it is not the primary seller of
the event ticket at the top of its website, or
at a comparable appropriate place on its
software application or other digital platform,
and at the point of purchase; or
(ii) if the secondary ticketing exchange
also operates as the primary seller with
respect to the event ticket, a notice on any
page or interface that facilitates the resale
of event tickets, that event tickets available
on the page or interface are being resold;
(B) receive the exclusive right to use the artist
name, venue name, event organizer name, graphic,
marketing logo, image or other intellectual property of
the artist, venue, or event organizer in promotional
materials, social media promotions, search engine
optimization, or in any marketing agreement between the
artist, venue, or event organizer and the secondary
ticketing exchange, if the secondary ticketing exchange
is owned by, controlled by, or under common ownership
or control with a person that also operates as a
primary seller or event organizer; or
(C) advertise or represent that it is the primary
seller of an event for which it is not the primary
seller.
(e) GAO Studies of Ticketing Market Practices.--
(1) In general.--One year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall
release a study on the event ticket market.
(2) Contents of study.--The study required under paragraph
(1) shall include--
(A) an assessment of how professional resellers
obtain event tickets that are subsequently offered for
resale, including whether those methods violate the
BOTS Act (Public Law 114-274);
(B) an assessment of event ticket brokers obtaining
tickets through fan club, venue pre sales, or credit
card rewards programs;
(C) an assessment of the prevalence of counterfeit
or fraudulently sold event tickets and whether
incidents of counterfeit or fraudulently sold event
tickets are reported to law enforcement agencies by
consumers, venues, sellers, or other entities;
(D) an assessment of the incidence of consumers
purchasing event tickets on secondary ticketing
exchanges who are subsequently denied entry to the
event for which they purchased event tickets;
(E) an assessment of the percentage of event
tickets to events that are acquired by professional
resellers for purposes of resale;
(F) an assessment of the average cost of event
tickets in relation to their face value and total event
ticket price;
(G) an assessment of the average cost of concert
event tickets sold on the secondary market in relation
to their face value and total event ticket price;
(H) an assessment of the average cost of event
tickets in relation to their face value, ancillary fees
and total event ticket price in both the primary and
secondary markets;
(I) an assessment of primary and secondary exchange
market share, including an estimate of how many tickets
are purchased and resold on the same platform and
average fees generated in closed-loop ticket resale;
(J) an assessment of the overall size of the resale
market, including percentage of tickets resold and the
total monetary volume of the resale market;
(K) an assessment of consumer use of the resale
market, including how often ordinary consumers who
intended to go to an event had to resell event tickets
and what percentage of face value their event tickets
sold for;
(L) an assessment of the prevalence of exclusive
contracts between a primary seller and any venue or
artist, including the effect of such exclusive
contracts on the market for primary seller services,
taking into account averages for events of various
types (including but not limited to sports, concerts,
fine arts performances) and venues (including but not
limited to stadiums, amphitheaters, concert halls,
clubs);
(M) an assessment of event ticket allocation by
primary sellers, including the effect of event ticket
allocation on event ticket prices, taking into account
averages for events of various types (including but not
limited to sports, concerts, fine arts performances)
and venues (including but not limited to stadiums,
amphitheaters, concert halls, clubs);
(N) an assessment of secondary ticketing exchanges
and event ticket brokers offering services to a
consumer to obtain an event ticket on behalf of the
consumer, including but not limited to whether the
platforms and brokers are deploying unfair, unethical,
or illegal tactics to acquire such tickets and prevent
fans from accessing them at face value;
(O) an assessment of market manipulation techniques
employed by professional resellers, including but not
limited to ``buy and hold'' strategies where event
tickets purchased for resale are not listed for sale to
affect secondary event ticket prices; and
(P) an assessment of the prevalence of exclusive
national touring arrangements between promoters and
artists and an assessment of artists represented by
managers under shared ownership with promoters and
ticketing companies, including how often those artists
utilize the services of companies under shared
ownership, including ticketing, event organizing,
merchandising and venue rental.
SEC. 4. STRENGTHENING THE BOTS ACT.
(a) In General.--Section 2 of the Better Online Ticket Sales Act of
2016 (15 U.S.C. 45c) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``; or'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; or''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(C) to use or cause to be used an application
that performs automated tasks to purchase event tickets
from an internet website or online service in
circumvention of posted online ticket purchasing order
rules of the internet website or online service,
including a software application that circumvents an
access control system, security measure, or other
technological control or measure.'';
(2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections
(c) and (d), respectively;
(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new
subsection:
``(b) Requiring Online Ticket Issuers To Put in Place Site Policies
and Establish Safeguards To Protect Site Security.--
``(1) Requirement to enforce site policies.--Each ticket
issuer that owns or operates an internet website or online
service that facilitates or executes the sale of event tickets
shall ensure that such website or service has in place an
access control system, security measure, or other technological
control or measure to enforce posted event ticket purchasing
limits.
``(2) Requirement to establish site security safeguards.--
``(A) In general.--Each ticket issuer that owns or
operates an internet website or online service that
facilitates or executes the sale of event tickets shall
establish, implement, and maintain reasonable
administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to
protect the security, confidentiality, integrity, or
availability of the website or service.
``(B) Considerations.--In establishing the
safeguards described in subparagraph (A), each ticket
issuer described in such paragraph shall consider--
``(i) the administrative, technical, and
physical safeguards that are appropriate to the
size and complexity of the ticket issuer;
``(ii) the nature and scope of the
activities of the ticket issuer;
``(iii) the sensitivity of any customer
information at issue; and
``(iv) the range of security risks and
vulnerabilities that are reasonably foreseeable
or known to the ticket issuer.
``(C) Third parties and service providers.--
``(i) In general.--Where applicable, a
ticket issuer that owns or operates an internet
website or online service that facilitates or
executes the sale of event tickets shall
implement and maintain procedures to require
that any third party or service provider that
performs services with respect to the sale of
event tickets or has access to data regarding
event ticket purchasing on the website or
service maintains reasonable administrative,
technical, and physical safeguards to protect
the security and integrity of the website or
service and that data.
``(ii) Oversight procedure requirements.--
The procedures implemented and maintained by a
ticket issuer in accordance with clause (i)
shall include the following:
``(I) Taking reasonable steps to
select and retain service providers
that are capable of maintaining
appropriate safeguards for the customer
information at issue.
``(II) Requiring service providers
by contract to implement and maintain
adequate safeguards.
``(III) Periodically assessing
service providers based on the risk
they present and the continued adequacy
of their safeguards.
``(D) Updates.--A ticket issuer that owns or
operates an internet website or online service that
facilitates or executes the sale of event tickets shall
regularly evaluate and make adjustments to the
safeguards described in subparagraph (A) in light of
any material changes in technology, internal or
external threats to system security, confidentiality,
integrity, and availability, and the changing business
arrangements or operations of the ticket issuer.
``(3) Requirement to report incidents of circumvention;
consumer complaints.--
``(A) In general.--A ticket issuer that owns or
operates an internet website or online service that
facilitates or executes the sale of event tickets shall
report to the Commission any incidents of circumvention
of which the ticket issuer has actual knowledge.
``(B) Consumer complaint website.--Not later than
180 days after the date of enactment of the Fans First
Act, the Commission shall create a publicly available
website (or modify an existing publicly available
website of the Commission) to allow individuals to
report violations of this subsection to the Commission.
``(C) Reporting timeline and process.--
``(i) Timeline.--A ticket issuer shall
report known incidents of circumvention within
a reasonable period of time after the incident
of circumvention is discovered by the ticket
issuer, and in no case later than 30 days after
an incident of circumvention is discovered by
the ticket issuer.
``(ii) Automated submission.--The
Commission may establish a reporting mechanism
to provide for the automatic submission of
reports required under this subsection.
``(iii) Coordination with state attorneys
general.--The Commission shall--
``(I) share reports received from
ticket issuers under subparagraph (A)
with State attorneys general as
appropriate; and
``(II) share consumer complaints
submitted through the website
established under subparagraph (B) with
State attorneys general as appropriate.
``(4) Duty to address causes of circumvention.--A ticket
issuer that owns or operates an internet website or online
service that facilitates or executes the sale of event tickets
must take reasonable steps to improve its access control
systems, security measures, and other technological controls or
measures to address any incidents of circumvention of which the
ticket issuer has actual knowledge.
``(5) FTC guidance.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of the Fans First Act, the Commission shall
publish guidance for ticket issuers on compliance with the
requirements of this subsection.'';
(4) in subsection (c), as redesignated by paragraph (1) of
this subsection--
(A) by striking ``subsection (a)'' each place it
appears and inserting ``subsection (a) or (b)'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``The
Commission'' and inserting ``Except as provided
in paragraph (3), the Commission''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``Any
person'' and inserting ``Subject to paragraph
(3), any person''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraphs:
``(3) Civil action.--
``(A) In general.--If the Commission has reason to
believe that any person has committed a violation of
subsection (a) or (b), the Commission may bring a civil
action in an appropriate district court of the United
States to--
``(i) recover a civil penalty under
paragraph (4); and
``(ii) seek other appropriate relief,
including injunctive relief and other equitable
relief.
``(B) Litigation authority.--Except as otherwise
provided in section 16(a)(3) of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 56(a)(3)), the Commission
shall have exclusive authority to commence or defend,
and supervise the litigation of, any civil action
authorized under this paragraph and any appeal of such
action in its own name by any of its attorneys
designated by it for such purpose, unless the
Commission authorizes the Attorney General to do so.
The Commission shall inform the Attorney General of the
exercise of such authority and such exercise shall not
preclude the Attorney General from intervening on
behalf of the United States in such action and any
appeal of such action as may be otherwise provided by
law.
``(C) Rule of construction.--Any civil penalty or
relief sought through a civil action under this
paragraph shall be in addition to other penalties and
relief as may be prescribed by law.
``(4) Civil penalties.--
``(A) In general.--Any person who violates
subsection (a) or (b) shall be liable for--
``(i) a civil penalty of not less than
$10,000 for each day during which the violation
occurs or continues to occur; and
``(ii) an additional civil penalty of not
less than $1,000 per violation.
``(B) Enhanced civil penalty for intentional
violations.--In addition to the civil penalties under
subparagraph (A), a person that intentionally violates
subsection (a) or (b) shall be liable for a civil
penalty of not less than $10,000 per violation.'';
(5) in subsection (d), as redesignated by paragraph (1) of
this subsection, by striking ``subsection (a)'' each place it
appears and inserting ``subsection (a) or (b)''; and
(6) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
``(e) Law Enforcement Coordination.--
``(1) In general.--The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the
Department of Justice, and other relevant State or local law
enforcement officials shall coordinate as appropriate with the
Commission to share information about known instances of
cyberattacks on security measures, access control systems, or
other technological controls or measures on an internet website
or online service that are used by ticket issuers to enforce
posted event ticket purchasing limits or to maintain the
integrity of posted online ticket purchasing order rules. Such
coordination may include providing information about ongoing
investigations but may exclude classified information or
information that could compromise a law enforcement or national
security effort, as appropriate.
``(2) Cyberattack defined.--In this paragraph, the term
`cyberattack' means an attack, via cyberspace, targeting an
enterprise's use of cyberspace for the purpose of--
``(A) disrupting, disabling, destroying, or
maliciously controlling a computing environment or
computing infrastructure; or
``(B) destroying the integrity of data or stealing
controlled information.
``(f) Congressional Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this paragraph, the Commission shall report to
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives on
the status of enforcement actions taken pursuant to this Act, as well
as any identified limitations to the Commission's ability to pursue
incidents of circumvention described in subsection (a)(1)(A).''.
(b) Additional Definition.--Section 3 of the Better Online Ticket
Sales Act of 2016 (15 U.S.C. 45c note) is amended by adding at the end
the following new paragraph:
``(4) Circumvention.--The term `circumvention' means the
act of avoiding, bypassing, removing, deactivating, or
otherwise impairing an access control system, security measure,
safeguard, or other technological control or measure described
in section 2(b)(1).''.
SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT BY THE COMMISSION.
(a) FTC Act Violation.--Any person who violates section 3 of this
Act shall be liable for engaging in an unfair or deceptive act or
practice under section 5(a)(1) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15
U.S.C. 45(a)(1)).
(b) Civil Action.--If the Commission has reason to believe that any
person has violated section 3 of this Act, the Commission may bring a
civil action in an appropriate district court of the United States to--
(1) recover a civil penalty under subsection (c); and
(2) seek other appropriate relief, including injunctive
relief.
(c) Civil Penalty.--
(1) In general.--Any person who violates section 3 of this
Act shall be liable for--
(A) a civil penalty of at least $15,000 for each
day during which the violation occurs or continues to
occur; and
(B) an additional civil penalty equal to the
greater of--
(i) $1,000 per event ticket advertised,
listed, sold, or resold in violation of this
Act; or
(ii) an amount equal to the sum of the
total event ticket prices for each event ticket
listed or sold in violation of this Act,
multiplied by 5.
(2) Enhanced civil penalty for intentional violations.--In
addition to the civil penalty under paragraph (1), a person
that intentionally violates section 3 of this Act shall be
liable for a civil penalty of at least $10,000 per event ticket
sold or resold in violation of this Act.
(d) Complaint Website.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall create a publicly
available website where individuals may report violations of
this Act.
(2) Cooperation with state ags.--As appropriate, the
Commission shall share reports received through the website
created under paragraph (1) with State attorneys general.
(e) FTC Report.--The Commission shall report annually to Congress
on enforcement metrics, activity, and effectiveness under this Act.
SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT BY STATES.
(a) In General.--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 the engagement
of any person in a practice that violates section 3 of this Act, 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--
(1) to enjoin further violation of such provision by such
person;
(2) to compel compliance with such provision; and
(3) to obtain damages, restitution, or other compensation
on behalf of such residents.
(b) Investigatory Powers.--Nothing in this section may be construed
to prevent the attorney general of a State from exercising the powers
conferred on the attorney general by the laws of the State to conduct
investigations, to administer oaths or affirmations, or to compel the
attendance of witnesses or the production of documentary or other
evidence.
(c) Venue; Service of Process.--
(1) Venue.--Any action brought under subsection (a) may be
brought in--
(A) the district court of the United States that
meets applicable requirements relating to venue under
section 1391 of title 28, United States Code; or
(B) another court of competent jurisdiction.
(2) Service of process.--In an action brought under
subsection (a), process may be served in any district in which
the defendant--
(A) is an inhabitant; or
(B) may be found.
(d) Actions by Other State Officials.--
(1) In general.--In addition to civil actions brought by
attorneys general under subsection (a), any other consumer
protection officer of a State who is authorized by the State to
do so may bring a civil action under subsection (a), subject to
the same requirements and limitations that apply under this
subsection to civil actions brought by attorneys general.
(2) Savings provision.--Nothing in this section may be
construed to prohibit an authorized official of a State from
initiating or continuing any proceeding in a court of the State
for a violation of any civil or criminal law of the State.
SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision
to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the
remainder of this Act and of the amendments made by this Act, and the
application of the remaining provisions of this Act and amendments to
any person or circumstance, shall not be affected.
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