Rapid sellout of McCartney tickets sparks new legislation

Western New Yorkers who tried to get Paul McCartney tickets but could not now have a reason.

Cyber scalpers used software knows as "bots" to buy virtually every ticket. It happened so fast, Congress is now taking action.

The tickets for the highly hyped show at First Niagara Center sold out in just three minutes. Scalpers and online hackers who used bots are now re-selling the tickets at sky-high prices. Schumer says new technology means software is able to trick systems that venues and legitimate ticket sellers use to keep bots out.

"Fans needed to be faster than a computer," says Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Schumer announced that he is introducing new legislation to the Senate that would make software acting as bots illegal. In addition, anyone selling tickets knowingly bought by bots would face a fine of $1,000 per ticket.

The senator says a similar version of the Bots Act has also been introduced into the House of Representatives. He says both bills have bipartisan support. "What this will do is stop the bots and online ticket sellers in their tracks," Schumer explains. "They sell a thousand tickets illegally -- that's a million dollar fine. They're not making that much money."

By: Rachel Elzufon

Source: WKBW news

Read More >>