(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on September 9, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
Better On-line Ticket Sales Act of 2016 or the BOTS Act
(Sec. 2) This bill prohibits the sale of computer software that: (1) is primarily designed to circumvent technology that limits purchases made via an online ticket selling system, (2) has only a limited commercially significant purpose other than for such circumvention, or (3) is marketed to use for such circumvention.
The bill also prohibits the use of such circumvention software in violation of a system operator's posted limits on: (1) the quantity of tickets purchased by a single user; (2) the sequence, number, or frequency of transactions; or (3) the geographic location of transactions.
In addition, the bill makes it unlawful to resell in commerce tickets that were acquired through such a prohibited use of circumvention software if the reseller participated in, had the ability to control, or should have known about the violation.
It shall not be unlawful, however, to create or use software to: (1) investigate or further the enforcement or defense of any alleged violation of this bill, or (2) identify and analyze flaws and vulnerabilities of a computerized event ticketing system if these activities are conducted to advance the state of knowledge in the field of computer system security or to assist in the development of computer security products.
Violations shall be treated as unfair and deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act.
The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general may enforce against violations.