Congress Launches Investigation Into Primary And Secondary Ticketing
Members of the U.S. Congressional Energy and Commerce Committee have launched a formal investigation into ticketing in both the primary and secondary markets.
“The Committee, which has broad jurisdiction over consumer protection issues, is concerned about potentially unfair and deceptive practices occurring in the primary and secondary ticket marketplace, many of which have been documented in consumer complaints, press stories, and government reports,” Committee leaders wrote in a joint statement.
In letters to Live Nation, Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), StubHub, Vivid Seats, TicketNetwork, and Tickets.com, members of congress, including Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Greg Walden (R-OR) Diana DeGette (D-CO), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) requested detailed information and documents pertaining to the ticketing policies and practices of the companies.
The members’ letter addresses several concerning trends in the live event ticketing industry that disadvantage consumers, including high, hidden fees, secondary market ticket speculation, and “white label” websites that may use practices to deceive consumers.
The members are requesting documents and other information, as well as a briefing, from the companies.
This isn’t’ congress’s first tilt at this particular windmill. In September 2016, the Committee requested that the U.S. Government Accountability Office undertake a study of the ticketing industry and its impact on consumers and then, two years later, followed it up with a request for the Federal Trade Commission to examine consumer protection issues regarding the ticketing marketplace.
