President Barack Obama has officially signed federal legislation criminalizing the use of ticket bots, in what is known as the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act of 2016 – passed by the Senate in November and by the House last week. Music, theatre, and sports lovers alike are rejoicing over the new act, which will work to eliminate the instantly-sold-out shows that have become the norm due to bots, and make it easier for fans to buy tickets directly, at reasonable prices.
If you’ve ever dropped half a paycheck trying to rectify a sold-out show on a resale site like Stubhub, then you know firsthand why this is awesome news. Ticket bots, which have the capacity to snap up thousands of tickets just seconds after they go onsale (after which they are resold elsewhere at exorbitant prices), have increasingly been a menace in the entertainment industry. The new legislation, which makes it a federal offense to use computer software to buy tickets, finds this scheme to be “an unfair and deceptive practice” that violates the Federal Trade Commission Act.
Shortly after the bill was passed by the House, our President-elect was focusing his energy on Time Magazine, complaining that they named him “Person of the Year” rather than “Man of the Year.” Essentially, if Trump is an aggressive orange monster charging blindly into the White House, then Obama is our intrepid Pac-Man, still finding time to munch 300-point strawberries at the edge of the maze.
Article: Olivia Isenhart
