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Ontario planning tout-bot ban

By | Published on Monday 24 October 2016

Ticket touts

Following proposals by British MP Nigel Adams last week to outlaw ticket touting bots via the in-development Digital Economy Bill, the Attorney General of the Canadian province of Ontario has announced similar measures.

According to the Toronto Star, Attorney General Yasir Naqvi says he will introduce anti-tout-bot legislation next spring. As much previously reported, the so called bots are simply software that enable touts to hoover up large quantities of tickets off primary sites to be resold on the secondary market. Such technology allows touts to buy up tickets from primary sellers faster than actual fans.

Cracking down on bot usage is the one bit of secondary ticketing regulation that the secondary ticketing sites themselves generally support. Though there are both enforcement and jurisdiction issues with such measures – who actually goes after the bot users, and how do you pursue action against individuals who are actually using the bots in other countries.

Naqvi conceded that there were challenges, while also noting anti-bot efforts in both the UK and New York. But, according to The Star, he says that while tackling ticket touting is tricky, that doesn’t mean inaction is an option either. He said that he will build on existing proposals put forward by politician Sophie Kiwala in the Ontario parliament, and that he is keen to work out “what kind of solutions we can put in place”.



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