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Read. Follow. Verify.MAIN Event Ticketing Act
Last action · September 2, 2025: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 144.Sponsors: Marsha Blackburn and 1 other
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What This Bill Would Do
This bill updates the 2016 BOTS Act to impose stricter security and reporting requirements on online ticket sellers to prevent the use of automated software for bulk ticket purchases. It mandates that ticket issuers implement robust security safeguards, report known incidents to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and coordinate with law enforcement regarding cyberattacks.
The bill establishes new legal obligations for online ticket platforms to protect their systems from automated 'bot' attacks, with potential civil penalties of at least $10,000 per day for non-compliance, directly impacting how ticket issuers manage site security and consumer data.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Online ticket issuers
Must implement new security safeguards, report circumvention incidents, and face potential civil penalties for non-compliance.
Federal Trade Commission
Tasked with creating a reporting website, issuing compliance guidance, and enforcing the new civil penalty provisions.
State attorneys general
Will receive shared reports and consumer complaints from the FTC regarding ticket purchasing violations.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is considered 'circumvention' under this bill?
How much can a company be fined for violating these rules?
Do ticket issuers have to report bot attacks?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
House Committee Advances MAIN Event Ticketing Act to Combat Ticket Bots
MAIN Event Ticketing Act Advances 36-0 in U.S. House Committee, Targeting Ticket Bots
MAIN Event Ticketing Act clears House committee 36-0 – as Live Nation fights an FTC lawsuit under the law it would strengthen
MAIN Event Ticketing Act Clears House Committee 36-0
NIVA Applauds Advancement Of Bipartisan MAIN Event Ticketing Act And Urges Congress To Act
Bias ratings based on AllSides / Media Bias/Fact Check
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently on floor. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Passed.
Procedural history
5 actions- Sep 2, 2025SenatePlaced on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 144.
- Sep 2, 2025SenateCommittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 119-57.
- Apr 30, 2025SenateCommittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Jan 22, 2025SenateCommitteeRead twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Jan 22, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced in Senate
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Shift to Mandatory Reporting
The bill moves from simply prohibiting bot usage to requiring active security maintenance and mandatory incident reporting by ticket issuers.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.congress.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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