executive order

President Donald Trump was joined at the White House on Monday (March 31) by Kid Rock for the signing of an executive order that instructs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce the BOTS Act and crack down on scalpers who illegally obtain high-priced concert tickets for resale.

Signed in 2016, the BOTS Act made it illegal to use specialized computer programs or automated bots to defeat access control systems designed to limit the number of tickets a person can purchase online for a popular concert. The legislation was created to combat bot-assisted attacks on high-profile ticket sales but has only been enforced once since its passage.

The order directs the FTC to work with Attorney General Pam Bondi to “ensure that competition laws are appropriately enforced in the concert and entertainment industry” and to “rigorously enforce the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act and promote its enforcement by state consumer protection authorities.” It additionally calls for greater transparency around ticket prices and asks law enforcement to “take enforcement action to prevent unfair, deceptive, and anti-competitive conduct in the secondary ticketing market”; and instructs both the Secretary of the Treasury (currently Scott Bessent) and the Attorney General to make sure “ticket scalpers are operating in full compliance with the Internal Revenue Code and other applicable law.”

The order also instructs the Treasury Department, the Department of Justice, and the FTC to deliver a report within 180 days “summarizing actions taken to address the issue of unfair practices in the live concert and entertainment industry and recommend additional regulations or legislation needed.”

During the signing, Rock thanked the president for the order, adding that it’s a first step in cracking down on bots that “come in and…get all the good tickets for your favorite shows they want to go to, and they relist them, sometimes for a 400 to 500% markup.”

The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) issued a statement shortly after the signing that read, “We applaud President Trump’s Executive Order to protect fans from ticket scalping by individuals and companies built to fleece American consumers. We are also encouraged to see the order’s aim to remedy anti-competitive actions by large corporations. These actions will help address the two problems jeopardizing the well-being of artists, independent stages, and fans: a predatory, unchecked resale market where bots and deceptive practices price gouge fans and the Live Nation monopoly that forces small businesses to shut their doors.”

The statement continued, “We want to thank Kid Rock for the education and advocacy he has provided policymakers on this critical issue. We urge Congress to heed his call to go further to protect artists in ticketing legislation, including a price cap on the resale market.” 

Ticketing companies, booking agents, concert promoters and special interest music groups have all lobbied for greater FTC enforcement of the BOTS Act, which specifically “prohibits the circumvention of a security measure, access control system, or other technological measure on an Internet website or online service of a ticket issuer that is used to enforce posted event ticket purchasing limits.” Industry experts agree that companies like Ticketmaster are best suited for identifying bad actors, but can’t unilaterally take action and must work directly with federal authorities.