Ticketmaster—FTC and seven states sued Ticketmaster for deceptive 'drip pricing' practices
In September 2025, the Federal Trade Commission and seven US states sued Ticketmaster for systematically hiding fees from consumers through 'drip pricing' — advertising low base prices then adding substantial service fees, facility charges, and order processing fees at checkout. The FTC alleged this practice violates consumer protection laws and that the true cost of tickets is often 30-40% higher than advertised.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Protection | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Corporate Transparency | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.643 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.57)
Evidence (1 signal)
FTC lawsuit against Ticketmaster for deceptive drip pricing reported by Guardian
The Guardian covered the FTC and seven state attorneys general filing suit against Ticketmaster for systematic deceptive pricing practices, where hidden fees substantially inflated ticket costs beyond advertised prices.