Algorithmic Price-Setting By Multiple Competitors Is A U.S. Antitrust Enforcement Priority

For the third time in as many months, the U.S. federal antitrust enforcement authorities -- the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice -- have filed a statement of interest in an antitrust case alleging that the use of a common algorithmic pricing program by multiple competitors constitutes price fixing in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The government's statement in Cornish-Adebiyi v. Caesars Entertainment, D. N.J.,No. 1:23-cv-02536-KMW-EAP, pending in federal court in New Jersey, follows similar filings in In re RealPage, Inc., Rental Software Antitrust Litig., No. 3:23-MD-3071 (M.D. Tenn. Nov. 15, 2023) and Duffy v. Yardi, No. 2:23-cv-01391 (W.D. Wa. March 1, 2024), suggesting that the use of a common algorithm by competitors has emerged as an enforcement priority for the agencies.