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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.