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What is the actual solution here? The lawsuit seems to hinge on "everyone used the same algorithm thus it's collusion", which would mean that _you can't sell a

by judge2020 2y ago

What is the actual solution here? The lawsuit seems to hinge on "everyone used the same algorithm thus it's collusion", which would mean that _you can't sell a single algorithm to multiple property management firms_, at least not without personalizing it or possibly re-creating new ones from scratch for every management company.

washadjeffmad 2y ago
It's already illegal to collude to fix rental prices. Laundering that through software across markets at a national level fools no one, or at least not prosecutors and judges. The solution is for the state to bring charges against the most egregious participants, then write laws to prevent price-fixing PE cartels with the budgets of nation-states from doing this ever again.
- judge2020 2y ago
  Well I asked what the solution was, which was more technical or a question of "what exactly will those laws say". What is the implementation of something that prevents this but still allows people to buy and sell a common algorithm?
  - jnwatson 2y ago
    It isn't just an "algorithm" in the computer science sense. It is property managers reporting a bunch of information that is then fed into an algorithm. Selling the algorithm should be fine. The information sharing is the part that gets into cartel territory.
    - judge2020 2y ago
      This would not change anything. If they moved to scraping each others' websites instead of all contributing data to a DB at the end of the day, the outcome wouldn't change; it'd just take a lot more cpu cycles to run.
      - washadjeffmad 2y ago
        Here's an explanation by the FTC: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2024/03/price-fixing-algorithm-still-price-fixing https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2024/03/price-fix... The problem was the system, not the technology used to implement it.
    - callalex 2y ago
      No, it’s the contractual obligation to use the dictated price without deviation that is cartel behavior.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

washadjeffmad 2y ago

It's already illegal to collude to fix rental prices. Laundering that through software across markets at a national level fools no one, or at least not prosecutors and judges. The solution is for the state to bring charges against the most egregious participants, then write laws to prevent price-fixing PE cartels with the budgets of nation-states from doing this ever again.

judge2020 2y ago
Well I asked what the solution was, which was more technical or a question of "what exactly will those laws say". What is the implementation of something that prevents this but still allows people to buy and sell a common algorithm?
- jnwatson 2y ago
  It isn't just an "algorithm" in the computer science sense. It is property managers reporting a bunch of information that is then fed into an algorithm. Selling the algorithm should be fine. The information sharing is the part that gets into cartel territory.
  - judge2020 2y ago
    This would not change anything. If they moved to scraping each others' websites instead of all contributing data to a DB at the end of the day, the outcome wouldn't change; it'd just take a lot more cpu cycles to run.
    - washadjeffmad 2y ago
      Here's an explanation by the FTC: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2024/03/price-fixing-algorithm-still-price-fixing https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2024/03/price-fix... The problem was the system, not the technology used to implement it.
  - callalex 2y ago
    No, it’s the contractual obligation to use the dictated price without deviation that is cartel behavior.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]