HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is pushing legislation aimed at what he describes as "cyber Grinches."

The Connecticut Democrat said the goal of the bill - which he unveiled this week - is to try to block the use of so-called "bot technology" that he says allows individuals to bypass security measures to scoop up large batches of the hottest toys of the season and then resell them at inflated prices.

Blumenthal said the practice is unfair and may contribute in part to the scarcity of some of the toys.

Blumenthal compared the practice to ticket scalping.

In 2016 Blumenthal pushed legislation to crack down on those who used the same technology to unfairly scoop up tickets.