A US bill, "Stopping Grinch Bots Act" seeks to put an end to the reign of scalper bots of gaming consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X amid its limited supply due to the current chip shortage mess.
A vendor sells PlayStation 4 (PS4), PS5 and Xbox game consoles at a shop in the central market of Iran's capital Tehran on January 24, 2021. - Iran's millions-strong legion of gamers revel in online worlds, but they have to fight daily real-life obstacles imposed by US sanctions in their quest to level up and keep playing. Reimposed in 2018 by former US president Donald Trump, sanctions do not directly target the gaming industry. But the risk of punitive measures prevents companies from offering services to Iranians.
US Bill to BAN PS5, Xbox Console Scalper Bots
As per the report by Kotaku, it has been difficult to cop a stock of the latest gaming console or even a new graphics card for a PC gaming rig for the last 18 months--and scalpers are making it even harder.
According to the news story by IGN, representative Tonko went on to say in a press release that "'Grinch bots' are forcing Americans to scour online sites in the hopes of finding an affordable gift or paying exorbitant prices for a single toy."
Tonko further claimed that scalper bots are not only affecting consumers of gaming consoles and other hot commodities.
On top of that, "Grinch bots" are also striking small-scale businesses, retailers in local communities, as well as other forms of entrepreneurs.
It comes as they are forced to go the extra mile to merely fill in their shelves with the sought-after gaming consoles and other PC components, the representative said.
PS5, Xbox Scalpers and Holiday Season
As per the report by GameInformer, bots are heavily targeting gaming consoles second to the sneakers market just in time for the holiday season, wherein consumers folk the stores heavily.
Microsoft's Xbox Series X (L, in black) and series S (R, in white) gaming consoles are seen on display during its worldwide release at an electronics store in Tokyo on November 10, 2020.
That said, even if both the PS5 and the Xbox Series X and S consoles have already reached their anniversary since they were released last year, it is still hard to get a stock of them straight from the retailer.
'Stopping Grinch Bots Act' to Ban Scalpers
That said, a group of Democrat lawmakers announced a bill that seeks to put an end to the endless scalping activities in every restock of the hottest consoles out there.
The bill, which goes by the name "Stopping Grinch Bots Act" was reintroduced by the Democrats last Nov. 29 by Senator Richard Blumenthal, Senator Ben Rey Lujan, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, and Representative Paul Tonko.
The bill further seeks to "prohibit manipulative technical practices that allow bad actors to use bots" in an attempt to protect the real consumer of products.
On top of that, the "Grinch bot" bill also wants the Federal Trade Commission to make circumventing security measures and the access of controls systems on an online service punishable by the law.
What's more, the lawmakers are also seeking to allow both the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney Generals of the states to "take legal action against the bad actors."
Related Article: Xbox Series X Owners, Here Are The Things You (Probably) Didn't Know Your Console Can Do
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Teejay Boris
