A recent news article has highlighted concerns about algorithmic price-fixing in various industries, including real estate and hotels. According to experts, algorithms can learn to collude with each other without explicit agreements, making it challenging to prosecute under existing antitrust laws. The RealPage case was able to clear the bar of evidence required for a price-fixing claim, but similar cases have been dismissed due to lack of evidence.

Experts warn that this type of algorithmic collusion could lead to permanently higher costs for consumers and undermine incentives for innovation and growth. To address these concerns, some lawmakers are advocating for updates to existing laws to automatically presume a price-fixing agreement when competitors share sensitive information through pricing algorithms.

Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/08/ai-price-algorithms-realpage/679405/