BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1832
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Date of Hearing: April 22, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Susan A. Bonilla, Chair
AB 1832 (Ian Calderon) - As Amended: April 10, 2014
SUBJECT : Ticket sellers: equitable ticket buying process: sale
or use of circumventing software.
SUMMARY : Prohibits the intentional use or sale of software to
circumvent security measures or other ticket buying controls on
all means of purchase, instead of only the ticket seller's
Internet Web site. Specifically, this bill :
1)Expands the prohibition on the intentional use or sale of
software to circumvent a security measure, access control
system, or other control or measure that is used to ensure an
equitable ticket buying process by deleting the clause in
existing law that restricts the prohibition to security
measures and other contro ls that are only on the ticket
seller's Web site.
2)Declares that no reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to the California Constitution because the only costs
that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will
be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, changes the
penalty for a crime or infraction, or changes the definition
of a crime.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Generally provides for the regulation of ticket sellers and
the sales of admission tickets to sporting, musical, theater
or other entertainment events. (Business and Professions
Code (BPC) Section 22500, et seq.)
2) Defines "ticket seller" as any person who for compensation,
commission, or otherwise sells admission tickets to sporting,
musical, theatre, or any other entertainment event.
(BPC 22503)
3) Provides that the requirements for ticket sellers do not
apply to any primary contractor or seller of tickets for the
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primary contractor operating under a written contract with
the primary contractor, and defines "Primary contractor" as
the person or organization who is responsible for the event
for which tickets are being sold. (BPC 22503.5)
4) Provides that the requirements for ticket sellers do not
apply to officially appointed agents of an air carrier, ocean
carrier or motor coach carrier who purchases or sells tickets
in conjunction with a tour package accomplished through the
primary event promoter or his or her agent by written
agreement. (BPC 22503.6)
5) Provides that the requirements for ticket sellers do not
apply to any person who sells six tickets or less to any one
single event, provided the tickets are sold off the premises
where the event is to take place, including, but not limited
to, designated parking areas and points of entry to the
event. (BPC 22504)
6) States that a violation of any provision of the chapter
governing ticket sales constitutes a misdemeanor. (BPC
22505)
7) States that the intentional use or sale of 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 constitutes a misdemeanor. (BPC 22505.5)
8) States that the requirements for ticket sellers above do not
apply to any nonprofit charitable tax-exempt organization
selling tickets to an event sponsored by the organization.
(BPC 22511)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . AB 1832 would apply the existing ban on
the use or sale of circumvention software in ticket buying to
all means of purchase, not just on a ticket seller's Web site.
Such a change is intended to protect consumers expecting a
fair opportunity to purchase event tickets through a variety
of technological means, including mobile phones and other
devices. Because any violation of the underlying chapter is
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treated as a misdemeanor, any violation of the provisions of
this bill would constitute a misdemeanor as well. This bill
is author sponsored.
2)Author's statement . According to the author, "AB 1832 is a
technical clean-up bill which assures equal access to tickets
for fans, by ensuring the prohibition against circumventing
equitable ticket buying process isn't limited to only those
targeting Internet Web sites.
"Last year AB 329 (Pan), Chapter 325, Statutes of 2013, was
passed into law, which made 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. This bill was designed to prevent the
use of Bots from denying the general public access to the
first release of tickets, which generally are sold at a much
lower price than the same tickets yield on the secondary
market.
"AB 1832 is necessary, because when Legislative Counsel
drafted the amended language to AB 329 that eventually became
law, they limited the application of the consumer protection
language to Bots targeting a seller's "Internet Web site," and
by doing so they inadvertently narrowed the intended scope of
the bill?[to apply only] to transactions conducted online, and
omits other media, such as mobile applications, smart TVs and
telecommunication devices.
"At the time of hearing [AB 329] in [the Arts, Entertainment,
Sports, Tourism and Internet Media] Committee, staff
recommended and the author agreed to amend the bill, deleting
the limitation of the provision to the Internet Web sites of
sellers, but due to an oversight that change was not made
prior to the bill becoming law. AB 1832 corrects this
oversight."
3)"Bots" and ticket sales . "Bots" are robotic ticket buying
software programs that allow users to quickly buy tickets
online or though multi-line auto dialers, which flood box
offices with purchase requests. Typically, these devices are
used by unscrupulous individuals such as ticket scalpers to
buy tickets, who then sell the same tickets to end users at
much higher prices.
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According to the author, the last several years have seen
numerous high profile concert ticket sales that have been
impacted by the presumed use of bots, allowing users with
these software programs to jump to the front of the line and
purchase large numbers of tickets at one time.
According to a May 26, 2013 New York Times article, "'Bots,'
[or] computer programs used by scalpers, are a hidden part of
a miserable ritual that plays out online nearly every week in
which tickets to hot shows seem to vanish instantly. Long a
mere nuisance to the live music industry, these cheap and
widely available programs are now perhaps its most reviled
foe, frustrating fans and feeding a multibillion-dollar
secondary market for tickets. According to Ticketmaster, bots
have been used to buy more than 60 percent of the most
desirable tickets for some shows; in a recent lawsuit, the
company accused one group of scalpers of using bots to request
up to 200,000 tickets a day."
The same article goes on to note: "The legal status of bots is
unclear. They are banned in a handful of states, but those
laws have proved largely ineffectual, and enforcement at the
federal level has also been a disappointment to the concert
business."
The author also points out that statutes must be precise in
the language used to talk about technology, otherwise certain
kinds of new technology may be inadvertently excluded from new
consumer protections: "Simply saying a bill applies to 'the
Internet' can no longer be trusted to ensure application
software designed for mobile telecommunications devices, or
cloud programs designed for laptops, smart TVs, or even gas
pump charging stations are encompassed by the law".
As a result, this bill would apply the existing ban and
penalty on the use or sale of circumvention software in ticket
buying to all means of purchase, not just a ticket seller's
Web site. The expanded prohibition would remain punishable as
a misdemeanor.
4)Arguments in support . A coalition of twelve supporters write:
"BOTs are an industry-wide problem that were created to bypass
ticketing security systems and create a substantial advantage
for unscrupulous ticket scalpers who grab countless numbers of
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tickets as soon as the tickets hit the market during an
onsale. Then, once those tickets are procured by the ticket
scalpers, the tickets are often sold on ticket resale websites
at many times the face value. BOTs put undue pressure on
ticketing systems, substantially increase technology costs in
the fight against them, and anger consumers because the BOTs
impair the ability of real fans to get great seats at face
value. The impact BOTs have on fans is serious.
"It is important that the use of BOTs be prohibited by law,
that those laws are enforced rigorously, and that those who
use and profit from BOTs be held accountable. AB 1832 is
another step forward in the effort to protect fans."
5)Prior legislation . AB 329 (Pan) (Chapter 325, Statutes of
2013) made 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.
6)Double referral . This bill has was previously referred to the
Assembly Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and
Internet Media Committee, where it was passed (7-0) on March
25, 2014.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Broadway Across America
Broadway Sacramento
Fans First Coalition
Feld Entertainment, Inc.
Feld Motor Sports
International Association of Venue Managers
Jonathan Reinis Productions
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.
Red Light Management
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey
Shorenstein Hays-Nederlander Theatres
The Broadway League
Opposition
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None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Hank Dempsey / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301