This happens with compensation as well. It doesn’t have to include software to be problematic - it can just be about exchanging data with each other. Many compa

This happens with compensation as well. It doesn’t have to include software to be problematic - it can just be about exchanging data with each other. Many companies share their compensation data with third parties via “surveys”, and those compensation data companies in return share industry data back to participating companies. This private signaling reduces wage competition but it’s not talked about much because the practice is visible only to HR teams and executives. Part of why they get away with this is an “antitrust safety zone” provided by the DOJ, where if you use a third party survey company and follow a couple other rules, you can get away with anti competitive practices. See the following: https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/hr-magazine/agenda-compensation-avoiding-antitrust-violations https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/hr-magazine/agenda-co... The DOJ announced they were revisiting these safety zones in 2023, but it seems like they were only doing so in the context of the healthcare industry: https://www.wsgr.com/en/insights/doj-withdraws-support-for-healthcare-policy-statements-and-increases-information-exchange-scrutiny.html https://www.wsgr.com/en/insights/doj-withdraws-support-for-h... Probably all tech companies also suppress wages this way. Enforcement and fines for these practices need to be stepped up, and new regulations are needed.