Max SteventonThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the US has filed a lawsuit against Key Investment Group (KIG), an umbrella organisation overseeing multiple ticket resellers, for allegedly violating the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act.
The suit comes just weeks after KIG filed an injunction to prevent this from happening.
KIG, who operate Totaltickets.com, Totally Tickets and Front Rose Tickets, is accused of going beyond the purchase limits for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour – the highest grossing tour of all time. FTC are accusing KIG of using unlawful means such as fake phone numbers and IP addresses to “purchase at least 379,776 tickets in just over a year.”
Those tickets were later resold on the secondary market for over $64 million, bringing in millions in profit for KIG.
The lawsuit comes after US President Donald Trump said in his March executive order that his administration would “rigorously enforce” the BOTS Act.
In FTC’s case summary, it accused KIG of using “unlawful tactics” in order to “generate millions in revenue.” The suit also claims that Ticketmaster “authorised” the practices of KIG.
KIG argued: “The FTC believes the ticket limits set forth by the primary ticket issuer apply on a company level and not individual. The FTC’s novel interpretation of the BOTS Act would make many consumers and most companies – including nearly every Fortune 500 company – in violation of the law.”