FEAT has responded to the European Commission’s newly published proposals for the Digital Fairness Act (DFA) and revised Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Regulation.
Welcoming the Commission’s decision to prioritise proposals to improve the enforcement of existing laws rather than delay them, FEAT supports the new tools designed to tackle cross-border ticket fraud. The Alliance backs measures granting the Commission direct powers to investigate large-scale cases and issue fines, alongside efforts to accelerate coordination between national authorities.
However, FEAT cautions that these updated rules will be effective only if they close existing enforcement gaps, noting ongoing frustrations with the rollout of the Digital Services Act (DSA). FEAT maintains that promoter-authorised resale remains the only way to protect fans from scams and being denied entry at the door.
Responding to the news, Sam Shemtob, managing director of FEAT, said:
“Fraudulent and abusive ticket resale is an industrialised business, costing Europe’s consumers and live events industry more than €2.5 billion annually, with the top 10% of unauthorised traders accounting for 70% of those missing revenues.
“We welcome the Commission’s decision to bring forward its work on enforcement, publishing proposals to update the CPC Regulation today alongside the Digital Fairness Act, rather than its original plan to leave enforcement reform for a later stage. It is encouraging that the Commission has recognised event ticketing as an issue, alongside the urgent need for stronger cross-border enforcement of existing consumer laws.
“Proposals to empower the Commission to investigate and enforce directly in large cases, and to improve the speed and coordination of national consumer authorities, will help. FEAT is pleased that, as with the Digital Services Act, non-EU companies will be required to appoint a legal representative in the EU, which we hope will see an end to unauthorised operators ignoring legal demands and even court orders.
“But the devil is in the detail. Our members’ experience of the Digital Services Act has been difficult, with some still awaiting responses from Digital Services Coordinators about ticket listings for concerts that took place… two years ago. Responsibilities for consumer enforcement are often spread across separate regional and national consumer authorities, and now also Digital Services Coordinators, which are usually also separate. The EU’s proposals must close those gaps and authorities must work quickly, before an event takes place.
“The Commission has recognised that consumer trust in event ticketing depends on stopping bad actors. It must now go further to curb a growing tsunami of fraudulent and abusive resale, by enabling the many small businesses that underpin Europe’s live performance sector to enforce their reasonable ticket terms and conditions easily and efficiently, enabling promoter-authorised resale systems that guarantee consumers entry to shows.”