Google suspends ticketing marketplace Viagogo from advertising on search engine
Google has suspended Viagogo – a secondary ticketing marketplace where people can resell their tickets for inflated prices – from advertising on the search engine through paid ads. The global suspension, which takes effect immediately, could severely impact Viagogo’s business given its reliance on paid ads for website traffic.
The decision comes after Viagogo was accused of ‘profiteering’ from charity concerts, selling tickets which may not work upon entry, colluding with scalpers, who buy tickets in bulk to sell them at a huge markup, and found by the Federal Court to have engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct.
“When people use our platform for help in purchasing tickets, we want to make sure that they have an experience they can trust,” a Google spokesperson said.
“This is why we have strict policies and take necessary action when we find an advertiser in breach.”
The ticketing platform will still appear in Google search results, but the ban on Google Ads means links to the site will not appear at the top of search result pages.
In April, the Federal Court decision centred on Viagogo using the word “official” in Google ads when it was not the official ticket reseller. The court also pointed out that ticket prices were not transparent because customers were not alerted to the booking fees until they reached the checkout, which could be as high as 27.6%.
Viagogo was also found to have misled customers by making false claims like “less than 1% of tickets remaining” to create a false sense of urgency.
ViaGoGo and their affiliates seem to set up a lot of dodgy events in Facebook like this one that look like the official event and use copyrighted images but just link to ViaGoGo instead of official outlets. Event spam.
https://www.facebook.com/events/340598433280287/
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But apparently Metallica via Live Nation give tickets straight to ViaGoGo anyway
https://consequenceofsound.net/2019/07/metallica-live-nation-deal/
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ViaGoGo a symptom, not the cause. Just as the banks can’t be trusted with our money, Live Nation and Ticketek can’t be trusted with our tickets. Would love to see a Royal Commission blast some much-needed sunlight over this opaque duopoly.
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Awful site that creates a system of gig going being based on how much money you have. Glad to see this move from Google.
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Sounds like Unlocked 2.0!
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