Live Nation Challenges Federal Authority in Motion to Dismiss Ticket Resale Lawsuit

2026-01-09 companies

Washington, Friday, 9 January 2026.
Live Nation and Ticketmaster formally moved to dismiss a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit on January 6, 2026, characterizing the regulatory action as “egregious overreach.” The entertainment giant argues that the 2016 BOTS Act—central to the FTC’s complaint—was legislated to punish scalpers who circumvent security measures, not the platforms that issue tickets. While the company positions itself as a victim of bot attacks, the FTC alleges Ticketmaster “tacitly coordinated” with brokers to generate excessive revenue, accusing the firm of “triple dipping” on fees from the initial sale, the broker’s resale listing, and the final consumer purchase. This legal defense comes amid heightened scrutiny, as the company faces a separate antitrust trial with the Department of Justice scheduled for March 2026. The outcome will likely redefine liability standards in the secondary ticketing market, which generated an estimated $3.7 billion in resale fees for the company between 2019 and 2024.

Defining Liability in the Digital Age

In a motion filed on January 6, 2026, with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, legal representatives for Live Nation and Ticketmaster argued that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is attempting to “rewrite the law” by holding a platform accountable for the actions of third-party resellers [2]. The defense hinges on a specific interpretation of the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act of 2016, a statute originally designed to prevent the use of automated software to purchase large quantities of tickets [2][3]. Attorneys for the companies urged U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong to dismiss the case, asserting that the BOTS Act applies strictly to those who circumvent technological security measures—the scalpers—rather than the ticket issuers themselves [6]. Live Nation contends that the statute was intended to assist issuers in combatting abusive resale practices, not to penalize them for the existence of such activity on their platforms [3][4].

Internal Communications and Operational Shifts

Central to the FTC’s argument is the claim that Live Nation failed to adapt to scalping methods and, in some instances, knowingly permitted them to boost transaction volume. The lawsuit cites internal communications, including an email in which a Ticketmaster executive allegedly admitted that the company turns a “blind eye” to brokers bypassing security protocols as a matter of policy [4]. Further allegations suggest that the company resisted implementing effective third-party identification technologies specifically because they were deemed “too effective” at stopping high-volume purchasers [4]. Live Nation’s legal team counters this by stating that the FTC explicitly failed to demonstrate that Ticketmaster itself circumvented any access controls or had specific knowledge of such circumvention by others [2].

Political Headwinds and Market Dominance

The legal battle with the FTC is unfolding against a complex political backdrop. Following the re-election of Donald Trump in November 2024, Live Nation’s stock price saw an upward trajectory, trading at $144 as of January 1, 2026 [1]. The company has also made strategic moves within its governance, voting in May 2025 to add Richard Grenell, a Trump appointee, to its board of directors [1]. However, the administration’s stance remains multifaceted; an Executive Order issued by Trump in March 2025 specifically directed the FTC to “rigorously enforce” the BOTS Act and combat unfair practices in the live entertainment market [1][4]. Live Nation CFO Joe Berchtold has publicly noted that parts of the current case reflect a “more interventionist philosophy” than typically expected from a Republican administration [1].

Sources

Live Nation Antitrust