US Congressman Bill Pascrell has said the proposed BOSS Act would address concerns raised in a report on the ticketing industry published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) this month.
The report follows the June 2019 workshop ‘That’s The Ticket,’ which was hosted by the FTC and brought interested parties from within the industry to discuss their views on how to address issues in the sector, such as under pricing of primary tickets.
The FTC is an independent agency of the US government whose principal mission is the enforcement of antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection.
Pascrell, who introduced the Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing Act (BOSS Act) along with Congressman Frank Pallone Jr, said the bill would “overhaul” the “corrupt marketplace.”
The BOSS Act pushes for greater transparency and consumer rights related to the purchase of event tickets.
The recently published FTC report highlights the need for greater transparency in both primary and secondary markets to protect consumers, as well as assessing whether transferability rules would help consumers.
It covers the role of holdbacks and staggered sales, as well as the effectiveness of the Better Online Ticket Sales Act (BOTS Act), which passed by Congress in 2016 and makes it illegal to used bots to circumvent limits on bulk ticket purchases.
Commenting on the report earlier this week, Pascrell said: “The FTC’s findings show a ticket marketplace in turmoil and in desperate need of changes. My BOSS Act legislation will address, head-on, many of the legitimate complaints and fears raised by consumers and highlighted by the FTC’s workshop to impose broad regulation over a Wild West market for the first time.”
He also urges the agency to “keep looking and use their full powers to take action on behalf of American consumers”.
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