European Parliament has voted to approve the Digital Services Act (DSA), which will aim to better tackle abuses on online marketplaces including ticket resale sites.

Under the DSA’s new rules online marketplaces will now be required to verify sellers and produce publicly-available annual reports on content take-downs revealing the scale of illegal activity.

They will also be banned from using user interfaces designed in a way as to trick users into making certain decisions, known as “dark patterns”.

The Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT) said it welcomes the news but said it will continue to campaign for tougher legislation to ban profiteering on uncapped resale sites.

FEAT director Sam Shemtob said, “The introduction of the Digital Services Act is a key moment for the live events sector in the UK, as well as across Europe. The new legislation regulating online marketplaces will see EU countries catch up with the UK in terms of stricter rules for verifying professional sellers and making sure fans know who they’re buying from. This will directly impact all UK artists who tour Europe, as well as make it harder for UK touts to operate under the guise of anonymity on European ticket resale sites.”

European Parliament’s decision follows 539 votes in favour, 54 votes against and 30 abstentions.

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