DOJ and FTC invite the general public to complain about Ticketmaster

If you happen to’ve been harboring complaints about Ticketmaster, now’s the time to let all of it out. The Division of Justice and the Federal Commerce Fee are inviting the general public to submit feedback about dangerous practices in dwell ticketing as a part of efforts to “establish unfair and anticompetitive” habits within the trade.

In March, President Donald Trump issued an govt order to deal with unfair practices within the ticketing trade, corresponding to scalpers utilizing bots to purchase up huge quantities of tickets. He directed the FTC and DOJ to implement competitors legal guidelines, in addition to file a report about their progress inside six months. The companies plan to make use of the general public feedback to tell their suggestions.

Ticketmaster has been beneath nearer regulatory scrutiny after its website crashed when Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour tickets went on sale in November 2022, sparking outrage amongst followers and even Swift herself. The DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit in opposition to Ticketmaster and its guardian firm, LiveNation, final yr, claiming their unlawful monopoly ends in larger ticket costs for customers.

“We are going to proceed to intently study this market and search for alternatives the place vigorous enforcement of the antitrust legal guidelines can result in elevated competitors that makes tickets extra reasonably priced for followers whereas providing fairer compensation for artists,” Abigail Slater, the assistant legal professional basic of the DOJ’s antitrust division, stated within the press launch.