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A bill introduced in the Arizona Legislature seeks to avoid any further "bad blood" for concertgoers after the fiasco that transpired last year after tickets for Taylor Swift's Eras tour went on sale.
Swifties reported waiting for several hours on Ticketmaster and some walked away without being able to buy a ticket. The chaos resulted in an apology from Ticketmaster, lawsuits and a congressional inquiry.
The president of Ticketmaster's parent company told a Senate committee that the issue was caused by a flood of scalper bots attempting to snatch up tickets.
U.S. senators called Ticketmaster's handling of Swift's pre-sale tickets a "debacle" and questioned why the company had not done a better job eliminating the bots, according to the New York Times..
Now an Arizona lawmaker has introduced legislation that seeks to stop bots from disrupting online ticket sales and circumventing digital security measures.
House Bill 2040 would authorize Arizona's attorney general to investigate individuals suspected of using bots to buy an excess amount of tickets or to disable the electronic queue for a ticketing website.
Those found to be violation of these rules could be fined a civil penalty of $10,000.
State Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, introduced HB 2040 ahead of the upcoming 2024 legislative session. A group of Democratic lawmakers have signed on as cosponsors for the bill.
Arizona's bill is similar to legislation passed earlier this year in Texas that prohibits individuals from bypassing security measures to purchase a bulk of tickets. A group of U.S. senators has recently introduced the Fans First Act, a piece of legislation that would impose penalties for illegal ticket sale practices.
The text of HB 2040 can be read below:
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