Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1850 To direct the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe rules to protect con- sumers 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 JUNE 13, 2019 Mr. BLUMENTHAL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To direct the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe rules 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Better Oversight of 4 Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing 5 Act of 2019’’. 6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 7 As used in this Act, the following definitions apply: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1850.IS S1850 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1850 IS (1) The term ‘‘ancillary charges’’ means all fees 1 that must be paid in order to secure a ticket from 2 a primary ticket seller or secondary ticket market- 3 place, including service fees, convenience charges, 4 parking fees, taxes and other charges. 5 (2) The term ‘‘base price’’ means the price 6 charged for a ticket other than any ancillary 7 charges. 8 (3) The term ‘‘box office’’ means a physical lo- 9 cation where tickets are offered for primary sale. 10 (4) The term ‘‘bundled series tickets’’ means 11 packages of tickets for multiple events that are part 12 of the same entertainment series. 13 (5) The term ‘‘distribution method’’ means the 14 manner in which a primary ticket seller distributes 15 tickets to a particular event, whether through pri- 16 mary sale, limited presale promotions, donations to 17 charity, reservations of season ticket holders, or allo- 18 cated to the primary ticket seller, team, artist, or 19 venue. 20 (6) The term ‘‘primary sale’’, with regards to a 21 ticket, means the initial sale of a ticket that has not 22 been sold previous to such sale, by a primary ticket 23 seller to the general public on or after the advertised 24 date of such sale. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1850.IS S1850 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1850 IS (7) The term ‘‘primary ticket seller’’ means an 1 owner or operator of a venue or a sports team, a 2 manager or provider of an event, or a provider of 3 ticketing services (or an agent of such owner, oper- 4 ator, manager, or provider) that engages in the pri- 5 mary sale of tickets for an event or retains the au- 6 thority to otherwise distribute tickets. 7 (8) The term ‘‘purchaser’’ means any person 8 who purchases a ticket from a primary ticket seller 9 or a secondary ticket sales marketplace. 10 (9) The terms ‘‘resale’’ or ‘‘secondary sale’’, 11 with regards to a ticket, mean any sale of a ticket 12 that occurs after the primary sale of the ticket. 13 (10) The term ‘‘secondary ticket sales market- 14 place’’ means a business, including a website, soft- 15 ware application for a mobile device, any other dig- 16 ital platform, or portion thereof, of a physical seller 17 whose primary purpose is to facilitate the resale of 18 tickets to purchasers. 19 (11) The term ‘‘ticket’’ means a ticket of ad- 20 mission to a sporting event, theater, musical per- 21 formance, or place of public amusement of any kind, 22 including bundled series tickets. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1850.IS S1850 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1850 IS SEC. 3. RULES ON TRANSPARENCY OF TICKET MARKETING, 1 DISTRIBUTION, AND PRICING BY PRIMARY 2 TICKET SELLERS. 3 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 4 of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall promul- 5 gate rules in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United 6 States Code, that include the following requirements and 7 prohibitions with regard to the primary sale, distribution, 8 and pricing of tickets: 9 (1) A requirement that a primary ticket seller 10 disclose and display on the website and at the box 11 office of such primary ticket seller the total number 12 of tickets offered for sale to the general public by 13 such primary ticket seller not less than 7 days be- 14 fore the date on which tickets shall be available for 15 primary sale. 16 (2) A requirement that the primary ticket seller 17 clearly and conspicuously disclose all ancillary 18 charges to purchasers at the beginning of a trans- 19 action before a ticket is selected for purchase. A pri- 20 mary ticket seller shall display the total cost of the 21 ticket including all ancillary charges in all price 22 quotes and advertisements. The price of the ticket 23 may not change during the purchase process. 24 (3) A requirement that a primary ticket seller 25 include the total cost of a ticket in including all an- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1850.IS S1850 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1850 IS cillary charges in any refund of a ticket that is pro- 1 vided for in the primary ticket seller’s refund poli- 2 cies. 3 (4) A prohibition on restricting the ability of a 4 purchaser who has purchased tickets from a primary 5 ticket seller to resell any such tickets. 6 (5) A prohibition on requiring a minimum price 7 for the resale of any tickets purchased from a pri- 8 mary ticket seller. 9 (6) A requirement that the primary ticket seller 10 shall disclose any guarantee or refund policy before 11 the completion of the sale of a ticket. 12 SEC. 4. RULES FOR SECONDARY TICKET SALES MARKET- 13 PLACES. 14 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 15 of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall promul- 16 gate rules in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United 17 States Code, that include the following requirements and 18 prohibitions with regard to the secondary sale, distribu- 19 tion, and pricing of tickets: 20 (1) A requirement that if the secondary ticket 21 sales marketplace does not possess the ticket at the 22 time of the sale that such secondary ticket sales 23 marketplace provide— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1850.IS S1850 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1850 IS (A) a clear and conspicuous statement that 1 the secondary ticket sales marketplace does not 2 possess the ticket; and 3 (B) an explanation of how to obtain a re- 4 fund from the secondary ticket sales market- 5 place if the purchaser receives a ticket that does 6 not match the description of the ticket by the 7 secondary ticket sales marketplace. 8 (2) A requirement that a secondary ticket sales 9 marketplace disclose to a purchaser when the sec- 10 ondary ticket sales marketplace is also the primary 11 ticket seller, venue, team, or artist associated with 12 the event. 13 (3) A requirement that a secondary ticket sales 14 marketplace disclose all ancillary charges to pur- 15 chasers at the beginning of a transaction before a 16 ticket is selected for purchase. A secondary ticket 17 sales marketplace shall display the total cost of the 18 ticket including all ancillary charges in all price 19 quotes and advertisements. The price of the ticket 20 may not change in the selection or during the pur- 21 chase process. 22 (4) A requirement that a secondary ticket sales 23 marketplace disclose upon offering a ticket for re- 24 sale— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1850.IS S1850 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1850 IS (A) the distribution method and the total 1 cost of each ticket including all ancillary 2 charges; 3 (B) the precise location of the seat or 4 space to which the ticket would entitle the bear- 5 er, or, if information about the precise location 6 of the seat or space is not available, descriptive 7 information about the location of the seat or 8 space, such as a description of a section or 9 other area within the venue where the seat or 10 space is located; and 11 (C) if the secondary ticket sales market- 12 place purchased the ticket during a public sale 13 of tickets to the event, the date and time of the 14 purchase of the ticket by the secondary ticket 15 sales marketplace. 16 (5) A requirement that, if a secondary ticket 17 sales marketplace guarantees delivery of tickets to a 18 purchaser and fails to deliver such tickets, the sec- 19 ondary ticket sales marketplace shall provide a full 20 refund for the total cost of the ticket, including all 21 ancillary charges, barring non-delivery due to causes 22 beyond reasonable control of the seller including a 23 natural disaster, civil disturbance, or otherwise un- 24 foreseeable impediment. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1850.IS S1850 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1850 IS (6) A requirement that the secondary ticket 1 sales marketplace disclose to a person purchasing a 2 ticket any delivery guarantee policy described in 3 paragraph (5) before completion of the sale of the 4 ticket. 5 (7) A requirement that a secondary ticket sales 6 marketplace— 7 (A) not make any representation of affili- 8 ation or endorsement with a venue, team, or 9 artist, as the case may be, without the express 10 written consent of the venue, team, or artist, as 11 applicable, except when it constitutes fair use 12 and is consistent with applicable laws; and 13 (B) in the case of an online secondary tick- 14 et sales marketplace, post a clear and con- 15 spicuous notice that the website or mobile appli- 16 cation is engaged in the secondary sale of tick- 17 ets and require purchasers to confirm having 18 read such notice before registering for an ac- 19 count with the secondary ticket sales market- 20 place or starting a transaction. 21 (8) A prohibition on the secondary sale of a 22 ticket by an individual employee of any venue, pri- 23 mary ticket seller, team, artist, online resale market- 24 place, or box office that is involved in hosting, pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1850.IS S1850 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1850 IS moting, performing in, or selling tickets if such sec- 1 ondary sale— 2 (A) is for a higher price than the primary 3 sale of the ticket; or 4 (B) is made to any third party and the em- 5 ployee has actual knowledge, or knowledge fair- 6 ly implied on the basis of objective cir- 7 cumstances, that the third party intends to sell 8 the ticket for a higher price than total cost of 9 the ticket, including all ancillary charges. 10 (9) A prohibition on the secondary sale of a 11 ticket for the same seat to more than one person at 12 the same time. 13 (10) A requirement that no purchaser shall be 14 sanctioned or denied admission to an event on the 15 basis that such purchaser resold a ticket, gifted, or 16 purchased a resold ticket. 17 SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT. 18 (a) FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.—A violation of a 19 rule prescribed pursuant to section 3 or 4 shall be treated 20 as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive 21 act or practice prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the 22 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 23 The Federal Trade Commission shall enforce this Act in 24 the same manner, by the same means, and with the same 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1850.IS S1850 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1850 IS jurisdiction as though all applicable terms and provisions 1 of the Federal Trade Commission Act were incorporated 2 into and made a part of this Act. 3 (b) STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 5 graph (6), in any case in which the attorney general 6 of a State has reason to believe that an interest of 7 the residents of that State has been or is threatened 8 or adversely affected by the engagement of any per- 9 son in a practice that violates a rule prescribed 10 under section 3 or 4, the State, as parens patriae, 11 may bring a civil action on behalf of the residents 12 of the State in an appropriate district court of the 13 United States or other court of competent jurisdic- 14 tion to— 15 (A) enjoin that practice; 16 (B) enforce compliance with the rule; 17 (C) obtain damages, restitution, or other 18 compensation on behalf of residents of the 19 State; and 20 (D) obtain such other relief as the court 21 may consider to be appropriate. 22 (2) NOTICE.—The State shall serve written no- 23 tice to the Commission of any civil action under 24 paragraph (1) at least 60 days prior to initiating 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1850.IS S1850 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1850 IS such civil action. The notice shall include a copy of 1 the complaint to be filed to initiate such civil action, 2 except that if it is not feasible for the State to pro- 3 vide such prior notice, the State shall provide notice 4 immediately upon instituting such civil action. 5 (3) INTERVENTION BY FTC.—Upon receiving 6 the notice required by paragraph (2), the Commis- 7 sion may intervene in such civil action and upon in- 8 tervening— 9 (A) be heard on all matters arising in such 10 civil action; 11 (B) remove the action to the appropriate 12 United States district court; and 13 (C) file petitions for appeal of a decision in 14 such civil action. 15 (4) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub- 16 section shall prevent the attorney general of a State 17 from exercising the powers conferred on the attorney 18 general by the laws of such State to conduct inves- 19 tigations or to administer oaths or affirmations or to 20 compel the attendance of witnesses or the production 21 of documentary and other evidence. Nothing in this 22 section shall prohibit the attorney general of a State, 23 or other authorized State officer, from proceeding in 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1850.IS S1850 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 1850 IS State or Federal court on the basis of an alleged vio- 1 lation of any civil or criminal statute of that State. 2 (5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS; JOINDER.— 3 In a civil action brought under paragraph (1)— 4 (A) the venue shall be a judicial district in 5 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]