HB 2339

This bill generally prohibits primary ticket sellers, resellers, resale platforms, and their affiliates from reselling a ticket before the ticket has been made available for sale to the public through the ticket's initial sale, including through a presale advertised to the general public. However, there is an exception if the event promoter, venue, or artist ha s authorized the resale. This bill prohibits resellers, resale platforms, and their affiliates from participating in a ticket presale. As used in this bill, a "primary ticket seller"" does not include a K-12 school or a non-sporting event organized by a po stsecondary school or nonprofit entity in which the artists or participants are primarily students. This bill requires an artist, event venue, or private ticketing provider to restrict the transferability of a ticket if the terms and conditions of the restriction are clearly provided to the consumer prior to purchase. However, the consumer must acknow ledge receipt of such disclosure prior to purchase. This bill clarifies that a ticket to a theatrical exhibition, public show, or public amusement is a license. Venue operators or operator's agents may maintain and enforce policies and conditions or req ui rements for a ticket purchase and may establish limits on the quantity of tickets that may be purchased. PRICE CAPS ON RESALE This bill caps the total price at which a reseller or a resale platform can sell a ticket at the original total price of the initial ticket, including all original fees and taxes. If the initial tickets were for a series of events, such a s season tickets for a sports team, then the total resale price of a ticket for a single event must not exceed the total price of a comparable ticket. Further, any resale fees are prohibited from exceeding 10% of the total price of the initial ticket. Ap art from such a resale fee, only state and local sales taxes may be added to the original total price. REFUNDS This bill requires a ticket issuer, resale platform, or reseller that engages in a ticket sale transaction directly with a purchaser to provide the purchaser with a full refund, including all taxes and fees, within 10 days if the ticket is counterfeit or the ticket the purchaser received does not conform to the description provided at the time of purchase. However, if the event presenter or venue operator for the event is a nonprofit organization, then the ticket issuer, resale platform, or reseller mus t offer the purchaser a choice to receive a refund of the ticket price, an exchange of the ticket for another ticketed event of equal value, or the option to donate the value of the ticket to the nonprofit organization. PROHIBITED ACTIONS Improper Use of Intellectual Property This bill prohibits a resale platform, reseller, or the operator of any website purporting to sell or offer for sale event tickets that links or redirects to a resale platform or reseller from doing any of the following:  Using any artist name, venue name, or event organizer name, logo, image, or other intellectual property in promotional material, a social media promotion, or URL of the resale platform, reseller, or the operator of any website without the express written consent of the respective artist, venue, or event organizer.  Stating or implying that the resale platform, reseller, or website is affiliated with or endorsed by a venue, team, or artist without the express written consent of the venue, team, or artist. Circumvention of Ticket Purchase Limitations This bill prohibits a person from using or creating a bot, or employing another method to (i) purchase tickets for any single internet ticket sale; (ii) use multiple IP addresses, purchaser accounts, phone numbers, or email addresses to purchase more tha n eight tickets, for any single internet ticket sale; (iii) circumvent or disable an electronic queue, waiting period, presale code, or other sales volume system associated with an internet ticket sale; and (iv) circumvent or disable a security measure, acc ess control system, or other control or measure used to facilitate authorized entry into an event. A primary ticketing platform must report any known or attempted circumvention of any such prohibitions within 48 hours of discovery. The report must inclu de a description of the event, any available information about the individuals or entities involved, and the measures taken or planned to prevent further circumvention. All relevant records of the incident must be maintains for one year. Use of a Bot This bill prohibits a resale platform from facilitating the listing or sale of a ticket that was listed or obtained using a bot. A resale platform is deemed to have facilitated a listing or sale using a bot if the ticket was sold through its website and the platform failed to require and retain the certifications described below. Speculative Tickets Present law authorizes a reseller to use a tentative ticket policy if it is disclosed to a ticket purchaser that the ticket is not owned by the reseller or in the reseller's possession at the time of sale. This bill repeals that authorization and, inste ad, prohibits a retailer from selling or offering for sale a speculative ticket. Further, a third party ticket reseller is prohibited from selling or offering to sell a speculative ticket, and must not allow such a transaction to proceed via any mechanis m that allows two or more parties to participate in a resale transaction. SELLER CERTIFICATION This bill requires a resale platform to require each seller to sign and submit a certification that attests that (i) the seller is in possession of the ticket offered for sale, (ii) the ticket was not obtained using a bot or in violation of any state or local law where the event is located, and (iii) the seller acknowledges that listing a speculative or bot-acquired ticket may result in civil penalties. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS This bill requires a resale platform to clearly disclose, for each ticket listing, (i) the name, username, or business name of the seller; (ii) the city and state, or the name of the country, where the seller is domiciled; (iii) whether the seller is a person that sells more than 50 resale event tickets in any consecutive twelve-month period or a fan seller; (iv) a rating from a system established by the resale platform to collect customer feedback on sellers; and (v) a customer service contact method. A reseller is prohibited from obscuring or falsifying the seller's identity or location a nd from permitting a seller to withhold required information unless exempted by the attorney general. COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT This bill requires a resale platform to remove any listings identified as speculative or bot-acquired within 24 hours of initial listing or the time such a listing is discovered. Further, a resale platform must monitor listings and implement reasonable technological measures to prevent repeat violations. A resale platform must provide a public-facing complaint mechanism for consumers to report violations and report to the attorney general the contact information of any reseller removed by the platform. A resale platform must retain a list of resellers for at least two years after each reseller's final transaction. Penalties A violation of this bill also constitutes a violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977 and is subject to the penalties and remedies as provided in that Act, which includes, but is not limited to, restraining orders, injunctions, private rig hts of action, and damages. The attorney general has all of the investigative and enforcement authority that the attorney general is vested with under that Act relating to violations of this bill and may institute any proceedings in Davidson County courts or any other venue authorized by law. Costs of any kind for such actions are prohibited from being taxed against the attorney general or this state. This bill authorizes the attorney general to assess civil penalties for violations of this bill and to take necessary legal actions to enforce the collection of such civil penalties. A violation is subject to a civil penalty of at least $15, 000 for each day a violation occurs or continues. Further, an additional penalty equal to the greater of $1, 000 for each ticket listed, advertised, sold, or resold in violation of this bill; or an amount equal to five times the total ticket price of each ticket list ed, advertised, sold, or resold may be imposed for a violation. An intentional violation is subject to an additional penalty of at least $10, 000 for each ticket advertised, sold, or resold. This bill provides that the division of consumer affairs in the office of the attorney general is responsible for enforcement of prohibitions on speculative tickets for third-party resellers. A violation of the prohibition on speculative tickets is subj ect to a civil penalty of $5, 000 per violation. Public Reporting Mechanism This bill requires the attorney general to establish a publicly accessible website to allow individuals to report violations on or before October 1, 2026. ANNUAL REPORT This bill requires the attorney general to submit an annual report to the general assembly detailing the previous fiscal year's enforcement actions, penalty collections, and overall effectiveness of this bill in reducing violations on or before July 30, 2027, and no later than July 30 of each subsequent year. The report must also be made available on the attorney general's website."