Democratic lawmakers announced legislation Monday that would take aim at bots snatching up all the hottest holiday merch online this holiday season.
The Stopping Grinch Bots Act was introduced by Representative Paul Tonko, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, Senator Ben Ray Luján, and Senator Richard Blumenthal.
The legislation would curb the use of bots to scoop up entire inventories of the hottest products, allowing resellers to jack up the prices. The bill specifically mentions toys, but Sneaker Heads rejoice; it would also prevent bots from scooping up the latest online shoe drops.
“This bill seeks to stop Cyber Grinch greed from ruining kids’ holidays,” said Blumenthal, according to The Hill. “New tools are needed to block cyber scammers who snap up supplies of popular toys and resell them at astronomic prices. Price gouging hot toys by Grinch bots should have zero tolerance.”
The bill would expand on previous legislation signed in 2016 that protected online ticket sales from bots.
