> The problem is when RealPage becomes a market mover - a company that has so much market influence that it doesn't just participate in the market, but exerts c

> The problem is when RealPage becomes a market mover - a company that has so much market influence that it doesn't just participate in the market, but exerts control over the market. I Your whole post is insightful and correct but it's actually even more basic than that. RealPage doesn't have to be a market mover, it doesn't even have to be an organization, it can just be a concept, it could literally be a math equation. It could be the words "don't lower rents by more than X% ever" spray painted on a piece of plywood. It could be a trade association that is a non profit. It doesn't matter what the mechanism is. The collusion comes from everyone using it. When everyone is following the same script then it doesn't matter what color paper the script is written on, what matters is everyone following it is engaged in a conspiracy. When a real estate firm signs up for the software they've made a decision to join an illegal price fixing conspiracy. Focusing on the mechanism of exactly what's going on inside the black box of the software itself is a red herring. As long as it involves fixing prices, then it's price fixing. A Clearly, that's exactly what it is.