Ticketmaster Faces FTC Lawsuit, Plans Policy Changes to Limit Scalpers

Ticketmaster, facing a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit alleging collusion with scalpers to inflate ticket prices, has announced several policy changes to combat scalping and improve ticket distribution to genuine fans. The company will limit users and brokers to a single account verified through Social Security numbers or other taxpayer IDs and will deploy AI tools to detect and cancel scalper accounts. Additionally, Ticketmaster will shut down TradeDesk, an inventory management tool accused by the FTC of aiding scalpers, although Live Nation, Ticketmaster's parent company, denies these allegations and attributes the shutdown to reputational concerns. Live Nation executive vice president Daniel M. Wall emphasized the company’s denial of any wrongdoing and stated that resales constitute only a small portion of their revenue. The FTC lawsuit accuses Ticketmaster of violating the Better Online Ticket Sales Act by facilitating brokers to bypass ticket limits and hide fees until checkout, practices Live Nation disputes. Despite denying the allegations, Ticketmaster commits to overhauling its system to prevent bot purchases and scalping, investing heavily in anti-bot technology and enhanced verification measures.