Ticketmaster is introducing a new identity verification process for select customers, requiring them to submit selfies and government-issued IDs.
The move aims to curb automated bot purchasing, but it has raised significant privacy concerns among event attendees.
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The verification step is designed to prevent automated software from buying up event inventory.
Cybersecurity experts note that bots account for roughly 60 percent of all web traffic to primary and secondary ticket sellers.
Bill Sieglein, a cybersecurity expert, highlighted the scale of automated scalping. "About 60% of the traffic to Ticketmaster or StubHub and sellers is from bots.
That's absurd. That's a crazy number and they try to fight it," he said.
"They're buying up all the tickets and they can get past most of the defenses as if they're real humans."
Ticket buyers are required to submit their verification photos to Persona, a third-party software provider.
According to Ticketmaster's website, the system checks the live selfie against the uploaded ID document and scans for indicators of fraudulent identification cards.
Fans evaluating the new policy expressed reluctance over sharing sensitive personal documents online. "I'm going to ask myself, 'Do I really want to go to this game?
or do I really want to go to the concert? I'll probably do it, but that's not ideal,'" said Soummaih Hydara.
Other customers voiced complete opposition to uploading government identification into corporate databases. "I wouldn't put my government ID into a data system," said Tony Fitchue.
