'Taylor Swift' Anti-bot invoices in Michigan see action in State House

When it comes to the online bots that Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets recorded -for some in 2023 for a cruel summer -the Michigan House of Representatives is not willing to shake it off.

On May 21, the judicial committee of the house heard testimony about the house bills 4262 and 4263, which were called “Taylor Swift” calculations that aimed at reversing the bots. Legislation would prohibit the use of bots on rock restrictions on ticket purchases or the bypass of waiting times and online queues. The lawyer's office would enable the legislation to examine potential violations.

The Rep. Mike Mcfall, the Rep. Bill Sponsor, informed the Michigan House justice committee during a hearing on May 21 that many who are trying to take part in a concert or a sporting event with a sold-out show or a game with only tickets available on the resale market at “Extreme Mark-Ups”. Some scalper use bots to buy an excessive number of tickets to sell the tickets at a price that is much higher than the original.

“This damages the entertainment industry and harms consumers by creating an unnecessary financial barrier,” said Mcfall. State MP Mike Harris, R-Waterford-one further draft law, that a federal law already prohibits ticketing bots that would give a state law of Michigan in General Prosecutor for the new authority to preserve measures. Harris said a member of his employees and Taylor Swift fan prepared a testimony for him by using texts from the songs of the pop star. But he said he couldn't get himself to read, even when he recognized that he had visited a quick concert with his family.

While her music was not prominent in the hearing of the committee, she has fueled a flood of invoices in state legislators in the United States in order to string back the bots.

When the ticket sale for Taylor Swift's concerts was opened, bots collected tickets faster than their real fans, according to Ticketmaster. During the legislative period 2024, according to the National Conference of State, legislatures recorded at least 20 countries and Puerto Rico laws for the sale of Event ticket.

Among the invoices in Michigan would be violations that bypass or deactivate the online ticket platform technology to buy tickets or jump in front of fans to do this, a fine of up to 5,000 US dollars for each ticket purchased.

The legislator in the house in Michigan passed similar legislative templates in the previous legislative period, but the Senate in Michigan did not accept it.

As part of the Federal Act “Better Online -Ticket Sale or Bots” 2016, Scalper cannot use technology to bypass the purchase limit for the ticket or use the wrong identity to buy tickets. But only years later, the Federal Trade Commission brought its first case to the Bots Act in 2021. After returning to the White House, President Donald Trump signed an executive regulation in which the strong enforcement of the BTOT act called for. The federal legislature also proposed additional guidelines to combat the current ticketing system.

Chamber of Progress, which describes itself as an organization for the left-left tech industry, published a report on the entertainment company Live Nation in 2024 “has carried out a quiet but comprehensive campaign in the state legislation in order to maintain its monopoly position by restricting the resale market.” The report demands the Live Nation's lobbying work for anti-bot laws, which he seems to be to set up consumer protection, but to restrict the resale competition.

“Bots are an important reason why the ticket market feels unfair and confusing for fans. However, if the legislators enter into too far, they risk violating legitimate resellers – and this could make consumers worse,” wrote the author of the report, Aden Kizkias, in an e -mail. The report does not specifically analyze the Michigan bills.

Live Nation did not answer an e -mail request for comment.

The resale company Stubhub is one of the company partners of the Progress chamber. The organization states that its partners in their political positions have no final say. Stubhub has a neutral position on the Michigan Bills while Live Nation supports them.

The Attorney General of Michigan, Dana Nessel, joined the Cartel lawsuit of the US Justice Ministry against Live Nation and his subsidiaries in 2024 and claimed that the entertainment company was a monopoly. Media representatives of the General Prosecutor's office did not answer a request for comments, but Mcfall said that the legislators had worked with the office on the legislation.

The invoices could soon go to the house floor to get a vote.

Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply