Lawmakers in Brasil have proposed a new bill that would increase penalties for ticket scalping. Nicknamed the “Taylor Swift Law,” the proposal comes after the pop star recently announced that she’d be bringing “The Eras Tour” to the country, which led to reports of violent scalpers in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro once tickets went on sale.
Scalping is already recognized as a crime in Brasil, but Congresswoman Simone Marquetto wants to reinforce the existing penalties. As translated from Portuguese by The Brazilian Report, the bill suggests increasing the maximum jail sentence for scalping from one year to four years, and sets fines of up to 100 times the price scalpers were asking for tickets. That means for Swift’s concerts, fines could reach the equivalent of $125,500.
“The exploitation of the Brasilian population by so-called ‘scalpers’ at any paid events expected to see a big public influx is public and notorious,” an English translation of the bill reads. “These tickets touts’ activity deprives the les fortunate, preventing them from attending the desired show, and constitutes a true crime against the public economy. There are many examples showing that the concerns expressed above are justified. The most recent is the case of the sale of concert tickets of an international singer. Fans claim that dealers purchased a large number of tickets, making it impossible for other consumers [to do so].”
Of course, this isn’t the first time ticket sales to “The Eras Tour” have prompted lawmakers to intervene: In January, US Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee held a hearing on the ethics of Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, following their mishandling of “The Eras Tour” pre-sale.
Egregious scalping in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro also led Swift to add more “Eras Tour” dates in those cities, as well as in Mexico City and Buenos Aires. Grab last-minute tickets to all of her upcoming shows here.
