S. 196 — MAIN Event Ticketing Act

This section amends the Better Online Ticket Sales Act of 2016 (BOTS Act) by (1) expanding prohibited conduct to include the use or deployment of any application performing automated tasks to purchase event tickets from an Internet website or online service in circumvention of posted ticket purchasing order rules, including software bypassing access controls, security measures, or other technological controls; and (2) requiring each ticket issuer operating such a website or service to (A) implement access controls to enforce posted purchasing limits, (B) establish and maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the issuer's size, complexity, activities, customer data sensitivity, and risks (with procedures for third-party providers, periodic oversight, and regular updates), (C) report known circumvention incidents to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) within 30 days of discovery (with FTC coordination to state attorneys general), (D) take reasonable steps to improve controls addressing known incidents, and (E) comply with FTC compliance guidance issued within one year of enactment. The FTC must also create a public website for consumer complaints about violations within 180 days of enactment.