BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 329
Author: Pan (D), et al.
Amended: 5/7/13 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMM. : 10-0, 7/1/13
AYES: Lieu, Emmerson, Block, Corbett, Galgiani, Hernandez,
Hill, Padilla, Wyland, Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-2, 5/23/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Ticket sellers: equitable online ticket buying
process: sale or use of circumventing software
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes it a misdemeanor to intentionally use
or sell software to circumvent a security measure, access
control system, or other control or measure on a ticket seller's
Internet Web site that is used to ensure an equitable ticket
buying process.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Declares that it shall be unlawful for a ticket seller to
contract for the sale of tickets or accept consideration for
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the sale of tickets unless the ticket seller meets one or more
of the following requirements: (a) the ticket seller has the
ticket in his/her possession, (b) the ticket seller has a
written contract to obtain the offered ticket, as specified,
and (c) the ticket seller informs the purchaser that the
seller may not be able to supply the ticket at the contracted
price or range of prices, as specified.
2.Makes failure to deliver the tickets within a reasonable time
or by a contracted time, at or below the price stated or
within the range of prices stated, punishable as a
misdemeanor.
3.Requires that a ticket seller shall disclose any service
charges assessed, as provided.
4.Provides that a violation of any of these provisions
constitutes a misdemeanor, and in addition authorizes a civil
penalty not to exceed $2,500 for each violation, which may be
assessed and recovered in a civil action brought in the name
of the people, as specified.
5.Provides that any person who, without the written permission
of the owner or operator of the property on which an
entertainment event is to be held or is being held, sells a
ticket of admission to the entertainment event, which was
obtained for the purpose of resale, at any price which is in
excess of the price that is printed or endorsed upon the
ticket, while on the grounds of or in the stadium, arena,
theater, or other place where an event for which admission
tickets are sold is to be held or is being held, is guilty of
a misdemeanor.
This bill provides that in addition to requirements for ticket
sellers under existing law, a person who intentionally uses or
sells software to circumvent a security measure, access control
system or other control or measure on a ticket seller's Internet
Web site that is used to ensure an equitable ticket buying
process is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Background
"Bots" and attempts to curb their use . "Bots" are robotic
ticket buying software programs that allow users to quickly buy
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tickets online. Typically, these are used by unscrupulous
actors like ticket scalpers to buy tickets, then turn around and
sell the same tickets at increasingly higher prices. Over the
past several years, numerous high profile concert ticket sales
have been impacted by the presumed use of "bots" in that
individuals wait online to purchase tickets while software
programs allow their users to jump to the front of the line and
purchase large numbers of tickets at one time. According to the
author's office, this scenario often leads to concerts and other
high profile events selling out in a matter of minutes, leaving
fans ticketless and forcing them to spend more money to attend
an event.
According to information provided by the author's office, the
ticket industry has attempted to combat problems caused by
"bots" by employing other technological means, such as
"Completely Automated Public Turing tests to tell Computers and
Humans Apart" (CAPTCHA), which include phrases and picture tests
at the point of sale during the online transaction to
differentiate between a human purchaser and a likely computer
program. CAPTCHA tests, such as typing characters into a box,
are designed to prevent the use of "bots" because the requested
task is typically one that can be completed by a person but
would be difficult for a robotic software program to accurately
perform.
Supporters of efforts to restrict the use of "bots" assert that
even these technological efforts are not completely successful
because the problem of instant sellouts and increased resale
prices for tickets continues to generate complaints from the
ticket-buying public. California joins a number of states
including Tennessee, Michigan, New Jersey, New York,
Connecticut, and Minnesota who have waded into the debate and
considered or passed legislation imposing bans on "bots" and
establishing stiff penalties to those who use these systems.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/18/13)
eBay, Inc.
Fan Freedom
StubHub
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TechAmerica
TechNet
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, this
bill is designed to protect the rights of consumers by stopping
robotic ticket-buying software programs that jump ahead of the
line and create instant sellouts of entertainment events before
the average consumer has a chance. These tickets are then
resold at extremely high costs, thus forcing a fan to spend more
money to attend the event without having had the chance to get a
face value ticket. This bill will create consumer protections
for people trying to buy tickets by stopping "bots" machines
designed by resellers to buy up all the tickets before the
general public has a chance.
eBay, Inc. and StubHub write, "Protecting fan's ability to
access tickets to their favorite events in a safe, reliable and
consumer friendly environment that protects against fraud and
abuse is of significant importance to ensuring a positive
overall experience. Passage of AB 329 furthers this goal by
addressing the well-established black market of unregulated
scalpers by prohibiting the use of robotic ticket-buying
software, or 'bots'? AB 329 would eliminate this abusive
practice." eBay and StubHub call this bill an important step
forward to achieving and protecting consumer choice.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-2, 5/23/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Jones-Sawyer, Levine,
Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina,
Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
Wagner, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NOES: Allen, Donnelly
NO VOTE RECORDED: Grove, Holden, Jones, Waldron, Vacancy,
Vacancy
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MW:ej 8/12/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
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