Consumer groups applaud House hearing on anti-consumer practices in the ticketing industry

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February 26, 2020

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League, Consumer Reports, Sports Fans Coalition, Fan Freedom, and Public Knowledge commend Chairwoman DeGette and members of the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee for convening the hearing, “In the Dark: Lack of Transparency in the Live Event Ticketing Industry.” Rife with fraud, deceptive marketing prices, and opaque restrictions on transferability, the live event ticket marketplace is one of the least consumer-friendly marketplaces available.

“The live event market is rigged against fans. It is rigged by a billion-dollar ticketing monopoly, rigged by unscrupulous scalpers who continue to use illegal ticket bots, and rigged by artists and promoters who would rather point fingers than bring transparency to the marketplace,” said John Breyault, Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud for the National Consumers League. “They say that sunshine is the best disinfectant. It is our hope that today’s hearing will be a step toward cleaning up a broken industry and holding the executives who run it to account for their anti-fan business practices.”

“We’ve heard from thousands of people across the country frustrated with being ambushed by sneaky fees that jack up the price of event tickets,” said Anna Laitin, Director of Financial Policy for Consumer Reports. “Companies should be required to advertise ticket prices with all mandatory fees included so there are no surprises and consumers know exactly how much they’ll pay.”

“The same things that harm concert fans harm sports fans,” said Brian Hess, Executive Director of Sports Fans Coalition. “Fans deserve the right to transfer their ticket. Whether that is because they want to give a ticket to a family member, or try to sell it to recoup some costs if they can no longer attend the game. Restrictions on this right, ruin the fan experience and make it harder for fans, especially older fans, to enjoy the teams they’ve invested in.”

“Fan Freedom applauds the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee for examining live event ticketing,” said Chris VanDeHoef, Fan Freedom President. “The industry is tilted in favor of the Live Nation Entertainment monopoly at the expense of music, sports and theater fans everywhere. We believe the BOSS Act begins the process of shifting power back into the hands of consumers.”

“Ticketmaster’s ability to leverage the ticketing portion of its business alongside the concert promotion portion of its business, Live Nation, is a classic example of anticompetitive behavior,” said Bertram Lee, Policy Counsel with Public Knowledge, “ Live Nation has refused to bring artists to venues that don’t use Ticketmaster, and this kind of anticompetitive behavior impacts both consumers and artists. Neither artists nor consumers who use Ticketmaster or Live Nation are able to take advantage of better prices or terms in the larger ticketing and venue marketplace.”

Many of the ills that plague this marketplace could be resolved by the passage of the Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing Act (HR 3248) as introduced by Congressman Pascrell (D NJ-9). The bill would require ticket sellers to adopt all-in pricing instead of hitting consumers with several fees at the end of check out, prohibit non-transferable tickets, require disclosures of how many tickets are being sold to the general public, and many more vital consumer protections. Following today’s hearing, the National Consumers League, Consumer Reports, Sports Fans Coalition, Fan Freedom, and Public Knowledge urges each member of the committee to cosponsor the BOSS Act to adequately address the myriad of harms that will be brought to light during this hearing.

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About the National Consumers League: The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneering consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

About Consumer Reports: Consumer Reports is the world’s largest independent product-testing organization. It conducts its advocacy work in the areas of privacy, telecommunications, financial services, food and product safety, health care, among other areas. Using its dozens of labs, auto test center, and survey research department, the nonprofit organization rates thousands of products and services annually. Founded in 1936, Consumer Reports has over 6 million members and publishes its magazine, website, and other publications.

About Sports Fans Coalition: Sports Fans Coalition was founded on the idea that sports fans deserve an advocate, someone who will stand up to the big sports leagues when they flex their political muscle, bully government officials or businesses, and attempt to harm the fan. Over the years, we have successfully supported fans across the country by overturning the Sports Blackout Rule; advocating for player safety; opposing publicly funded sports stadium construction unless fans receive a commensurate benefit, such as reduced ticket prices or free tickets for military personnel and retirees; protecting fans against ticket resale fraud; and drafting the Sports Bettors’ Bill of Rights, a set of consumer protections to promote safer sports betting.

About Fan Freedom: Fan Freedom is an organization comprised of entertainment and sports fans from around the country that support legislative proposals protecting the rights of fans and consumers.

About Public Knowledge: Public Knowledge is a consumer advocacy group that works at the intersection of copyright, telecommunications, and internet law to promote policies that serve the public interest. Public Knowledge advocates for freedom of expression, net neutrality, online privacy, affordable broadband access, digital platform competition, and other policies that benefit the public. In all our work, we endeavor to promote a creative and connected future for all Americans.

New National Consumers League podcast We Can Do This! explores current, historic socioeconomic reform in America

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January 16, 2020

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering worker and consumer advocacy organization, has launched a podcast called We Can Do This!, produced by District Productive and hosted by NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg and other members of NCL policy staff. 

In We Can Do This!, NCL and justice-minded, expert guests explore current socioeconomic issues at the heart of American political and cultural battles before a backdrop of the historic and ongoing advocacy and activism that help pave the way for meaningful policy reform. 

We Can Do This! episodes span the breadth of NCL’s wide mission and issues, including; healthcare, data and privacy, food and nutrition, labor, finance, and other topics. 

A first batch of episodes featuring individuals who are helping to shape the nation’s social and economic reforms have been released:   

E1-2: Crashing through the glass ceiling with two dynamos of women’s rights law—parts 1-2 

With Judith Lichtman, president emeritus and senior advisor of the National Partnership for Women and Families and Marcia Greenberger, founder and co-president of the National Women’s Law Center 

E3: Ending the scourge of child labor 

With Kailash Satyarthi, anti-child labor crusader and Nobel Laureate 

E4: Measles, it ain’t over until it’s over 

With Dr. Linda Fu, general pediatrician at Children’s National Health System 

E5: Sorry, fair pay and a safe workplace aren’t on the menu 

With Diana Ramirez, federal senior policy advocate at Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC United) 

These five episodes are available now on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts, and the remainder of the 11-episode series will be released in early 2020. 

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Consumer group urges additional action by DOJ and Congress to promote competition in the live event industry

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December 20, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC –The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering worker and consumer advocacy organization responded to the Department of Justice’s settlement with LiveNation/Ticketmaster for engaging in anti-competitive practices in violation of their 2010 consent decree.  

The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League:  

Yesterday’s action by the Department of Justice to extend the 2010 Live Nation/TicketMaster consent decree by five and a half years was welcome news as it will prevent the ticketing giant from engaging in even more blatantly anti-competitive conduct. However, the DOJ’s action lacks the major fines, and additional structural and behavioral adjustments needed to bring transparency and competition to the opaque live event ticketing industry. Absent of these changes, Congressional action is sorely needed to fix the broken live event ticketing marketplace.  

Fortunately, the Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing Act of 2019 (“BOSS ACT”), (H.R. 3248/S. 1850) which is currently pending in the House and Senate, will provide a comprehensive fix to the ticketing mess. The Boss Act will end deceptive holdbacks and egregious undisclosed ticket fees. It will also require transparency on whether ticket sellers are affiliated with a venue and ensure that ticket holders can sell or give their ticket away as they see fit without extra fees. The time for Congressional action is long overdue. The system is rigged against consumers and that must change.  

While we remain hopeful that yesterday’s actions by the DOJ are just a first step, we will continue to urge members of Congress to fix once and for all the broken live event ticketing system.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL applauds passage of two consumer protection bills

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December 19, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League, the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization today applauds Senators Markey (D-MA) and Thune (R-SD)  and Representative Pallone (D-NJ) for the passage of the TRACED Act, and Senator Markey (D-MA) and Representative Eshoo (D-CA) for the passage of the TRUE Fees Act. The Traced Act will provide regulators with the tools they need to crack down on illegal robocalls and the TRUE Fees Act will require cable and satellite TV providers to disclose an “all-in” price for their services.  

The following statement is attributable to NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg:

“The Passage of the Traced Act and the TRUE Fees act is a win for consumers. Because of these bills, the days of cable companies slamming consumers with hidden fees are numbered, and relief from illegal robocall scams is on the way. NCL applauds the passage of these bills and urges President Trump to quickly sign them into law.”

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL applauds House passage of safety bills

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December 17, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League applauds the passage by the House of Representatives of three bills to protect consumers, all of which came from the Energy and Commerce Committee.

“We are grateful for the leadership of Chairman Pallone and Subcommittee Chair Schakowsky in getting these bills through the Committee and to the House floor for passage,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “The House is taking an important in protecting Americans—especially our children—from dangerous products and protecting consumers from overseas scams.  Children are the most vulnerable consumers, and they need our advocacy. Products that prove dangerous to their health and wellbeing – like inclined sleepers and crib bumpers – should no longer be on the market, and we hope the Senate takes up these bills immediately. Thanks once again to the bipartisan efforts through the Commerce Committee and full House leadership for these important consumer protection measures.”

The House passed the following bills:

H.R. 4779, a bill to extend the Undertaking Spam, Spyware, And Fraud Enforcement With Enforcers Beyond Borders Act of 2006, reauthorizes the U.S. SAFE WEB Act, which improved the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) ability to combat unfair or deceptive acts or practices that are international in scope, through Fiscal Year 2027 and requires the FTC to issue a report to Congress describing the Commission’s use of and experience with the authority granted by the Act. 

H.R. 2647, the “Safer Occupancy Furniture Flammability Act” or “SOFFA,” adopts the California upholstered furniture flammability standard as a national flammability standard for upholstered furniture to limit exposure to toxic flame retardant chemicals.

*H.R. 3172, the “Safe Sleep for Babies Act of 2019,” designates inclined sleepers for infants as banned hazardous products under the Consumer Product Safety Act. The bill was amended to include the text of H.R. 3170, the “Safe Cribs Act of 2019,” which also designates crib bumpers as banned hazardous products.

*Links are no longer active as the original sources have removed the content, sometimes due to federal website changes or restructurings.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL welcomes DOJ enforcement of Live Nation consent decree

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December 16, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League (NCL), America’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization welcomed the news that the United State Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly preparing legal action against Live Nation Entertainment Inc. to crack down on anticompetitive conduct in the live event marketplace. In 2009, NCL led a coalition of consumer groups, independent promoters, and venue owners in opposition to the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger. Since the merger was approved in 2010, NCL has continued to advocate for fairness and transparency in the live event ticketing marketplace. 

The following statement is attributable to NCL Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud John Breyault:

“The DOJ’s interest in reining in Live Nation’s abuses is a welcome development, and long overdue. While robust enforcement of the consent decree may help, it won’t solve the entrenched ticketing industry practices that cause untold frustration for consumers. This is just the latest sign that the DOJ’s approval of the original Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger was the wrong decision.  Anyone who has tried to buy tickets knows that the live event marketplace, dominated by Live Nation, is rigged against fans. Congressional action to rein in abuses by Live Nation and others in the live event marketplace is necessary to restore sanity and fairness to the ticket-buying experience.” 

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Enough is enough! It’s time for the FTC to protect consumers from deceptive automatic renewal clauses

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Brian Young

If you’re like most Americans ,you have probably had a bad experience with an automatic renewal or—as they are sometimes referred to—a negative option clause. Regardless of the name they go by, these clauses cause contracts and subscriptions (ranging from equipment leases to gym memberships) to renew if a consumer fails to cancel the contract. Unfortunately for consumers, these clauses are increasingly being slipped into the fine print of contracts or misleadingly disclosed to customers during the checkout process.  

Some companies take this practice a step further by offering a free or low-fee trials to a customer only to later lock them into an expensive and lengthy contract without obtaining their informed consent. One survey found that this has happened to 59 percent of consumers, and that number appears to be growing. A Better Business Bureau study of FTC complaint data found that complaints about free trials doubled between 2015 and 2017. With the average loss rates for deceptive free trials reaching $186 per incident, it is clear that action is sorely needed.

While states like California and the District of Columbia have taken steps to protect their residents from these disreputable “gotcha” clauses, a majority of Americans still lack adequate protections. Some businesses will not only utilize deceptive negative option clauses, but also place unnecessary barriers in the cancelation process to prevent consumers from managing or canceling their subscriptions and contracts. Indeed, nearly 42 percent of Americans have complained about the difficulty companies have created  in the cancellation process.

Thankfully, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is finally considering improving consumer protections in this space. While the FTC already offers a few modest protections through laws and regulations like the Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act (ROSCA), a series of loopholes exist, allowing companies to mask rate hikes, roll consumers into lengthy trials without their informed consent, and hide these clauses in the fine print.

To help encourage the FTC to require meaningful protections, NCL recently filed a comment letter urging the Commission to:

  • Require clear and conspicuous disclosure of any automatic renewal clause, regardless of where or how the consumer enters into it;
  • Require companies to provide meaningful notifications prior to any contract or subscription renewal;
  • Ensure that businesses receive a consumer’s consent for their free or low-fee trial to be rolled over into a contract; and
  • End the practice of businesses making it difficult for consumers to amend, manage, or cancel their subscription.

NCL believes that the FTC has a real opportunity to extend long overdue automatic renewal protections to all Americans. As more companies incorporate the use of negative option clauses in their contracts, consumers need meaningful notifications and protections that ensure that they remain in control of their financial decisions. A strong FTC negative option rule will ensure that businesses compete over quality and price, not over who can create the most painful cancellation procedures or earn the most revenue by slamming consumers with unexpected and costly contracts. The time is now for the FTC to act.

Read NCL’s full comment filing here (PDF).

NCL applauds Congressional oversight of the live event ticketing industry

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November 22, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL) the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, today applauded the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s *bipartisan oversight of the live event ticketing industry. The committee’s decision to launch an investigation into the live event industry’s opaque ticketing practices represents an important step forward in empowering fans by providing the transparency needed to encourage competition and fix the broken live event ticketing industry.  

The following statement is attributable to John Breyault, Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud at the National Consumers League:

“In the absence of competition in the primary ticket market, consumers are forced to deal with a litany of unfair trade practices that create a rigged game. This includes secret holdbacks that trick fans into paying more for tickets by creating a sense of false scarcity and outrageous service fees which are often not disclosed until near the end of the purchase process. Today’s bipartisan oversight of the ticketing industry is a positive step towards restoring sanity and fairness into the live event marketplace.

Oversight alone, however, will not be enough to fix a rigged live event ticket market. Legislative action is sorely needed. Fortunately, the Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing Act of 2019 (“BOSS ACT”), which is currently pending in both chambers of Congress, will provide a comprehensive fix to the ticketing industry. This bill will end the use of deceptive holdbacks and ridiculous undisclosed fees. It will also require ticket sellers to be upfront on whether they are affiliated with a venue and ensure that ticket holders can sell or give their ticket away as they see fit.”

*Links are no longer active as the original sources have removed the content, sometimes due to federal website changes or restructurings.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL applauds FTC action to reign in deceptive marketing in the wireless industry

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November 5, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—Today, the National Consumers League, the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization applauded the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for its successful investigation and settlement with AT&T after the wireless provider misled millions of its customers. In 2014, the FTC found that AT&T had secretly slowed down or “throttled” consumers’ Internet speeds on their supposedly “unlimited” plans and then charged consumers early termination fees if they wanted to switch providers to receive better service. As a result of the settlement, AT&T will create a $60 million dollar settlement fund that will be paid out to current and former users of AT&T’s “unlimited” plan. 

The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League: 

“When consumers are promised unlimited data, they should receive unlimited data. AT&T’s policy of slowing down consumers data, to the point where they could no longer stream videos after using as little as two gigabits of data, is a classic example of bait and switch. NCL applauds the FTC’s efforts to protect consumers from false advertising and unscrupulous business practices in the wireless industry. NCL looks forward to seeing the FTC take additional steps to ensure that the marketplace remains fair and honest for all consumers.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Computer chip defects force consumers to choose between speed and security

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October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month! Since the first observation of this month 15 years ago, the world has gone from about 800 million Internet users to approximately 4.5 billion. Over that same period of time, there has been an extensive amount of time and energy dedicated to improving cybersecurity and cyber hygiene.

Sadly, despite those good faith efforts, it does not appear that consumers have become safer. In fact, it is clear by now that most individuals have, in one way or another, been affected by some sort of hack or data breach—either on a personal computer or through a company that they have entrusted with their sensitive information.

To make matters worse, beyond the heightened cyber threat environment that exists today, a new hardware-based vulnerability found in almost every processor in the world has recently emerged, and it is making it increasingly difficult for consumers to keep their data protected.

A new report released by the National Consumers League’s #DataInsecurity Project, “Data Insecurity: How One of the Worst Computer Defects Ever Sacrificed Security for Speed,” discusses the threat these processor flaws pose to consumers—both in terms of the security of their data and the performance of their computer after security patches are applied—and how they can protect themselves in the future.

The report details seven publicly disclosed exploits, known as “Spectre,” “Meltdown,” “Foreshadow,” “Zombieload,” “RIDL,” “Fallout,” and “SWAPGS,” that take advantage of the flaws found in CPUs manufactured by AMD, ARM, and Intel. While Spectre affects all three major chip manufacturers, all six subsequent exploits largely affect only Intel processors.

The exploits, in short, can allow a hacker to obtain unauthorized access to privileged information. And while patches have been released alongside each exploit, they have led to a decrease in computer speed and performance—as much as 40 percent according to some reports. In addition, the patch is only good until the next exploit is discovered.

The flaws create a real challenge for consumers: apply each temporary “fix” as new exploits are discovered and risk slowing down your device, or don’t and put your sensitive information at risk. And consumers who apply patches remain at the mercy of companies that hold their sensitive data and are faced with a similar dilemma, particularly as they must consider the expenses of implementing these fixes—including costs to add computing power lost by each patch.

The report concludes that the best protection for consumers is to buy a new computer that has a CPU with hardware-level security fixes or is immune from some of the exploits. Unfortunately, this is not practical for many consumers. Therefore, consumers are advised to perform frequent software updates. NCL is also strongly supporting data security bills, such as the Consumer Privacy Protection Act of 2017, which would require companies to take preventative steps to defend against cyberattacks and data breaches and to provide consumers with notice and appropriate protection when a data breach occurs.

As we mark this year’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we should certainly celebrate the progress that we have made. We cannot lose sight, however, of the need to better secure our information and systems moving forward. Awareness and smart data hygiene by consumers is one part. Companies must do their part to secure our information as well.

If you are interested in learning more, you can find NCL’s latest report here.