California Passes Broad Limits on Collusion via "common Pricing Algorithms"
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California has passed legislation limiting the use of common pricing algorithms that can facilitate collusion, sparking discussion around the implications for businesses and the tech industry.
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Light discussionFirst comment
4h
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2
Day 1
Avg / period
1.5
Key moments
- 01Story posted
Oct 16, 2025 at 6:18 PM EDT
about 1 month ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Oct 16, 2025 at 10:14 PM EDT
4h after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
2 comments in Day 1
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Oct 17, 2025 at 11:35 PM EDT
about 1 month ago
Step 04
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Companies have been trying to get discriminatory pricing off the ground for a very long time but one of the major hurdles besides the costs involved in the initial technology installation has been the fact that the public tends to react strongly against it. Stay vigilant and push back against the idea that different people should be charged different prices for the same items based on their personal data.
Companies like Wendy's and Kroger have been forced to walk back their surge pricing plans and Walmart insists they won't do it even as they install the digital price tags and facial recognition technology necessary to put it in place. This is an area where people's actions really can make a difference, as long as companies don't get away with slowly conditioning us to accept it.
It’s more profitable to collude — at least if you’re a believer of modern economic theory, as most CFOs are. Any corporation whose articles of incorporation give priority to shareholder returns is theoretically obligated to collude they’ll make more in profits than they’ll pay in fines or shutdown. Thus the importance of prohibiting collusion: no matter how much profit one can make alone from data, there’s always more to be made by a pack.
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