[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.
                                 <all>