Scalper bots caused Taylor Swift ticket chaos, Senate panel hears in testimony

President of Live Nation, Ticketmaster's parent company, tells Senate judiciary committee the bots caused technical glitches

The president of Ticketmaster's parent company, Live Nation, testified in front of the US Senate judiciary committee on Tuesday, saying a flood of scalper bots were responsible for its mishandling of ticket sales for Taylor Swift's latest tour.

Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2010, making it the main conduit between artists and venues in the US. While the company has been under criticism over the last decade for its dominance of the live events industry, it has come under fresh and intensified scrutiny after fans trying to get Swift tickets in November experienced crashes and glitches of the ticketing service.