#antitrust

#antitrust

The settlement is part of an ongoing lawsuit filed last year by the U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of nine state attorneys general against RealPage, a software company that uses algorithmic models to recommend price increases to subscribers. "We are pleased this matter is resolved and remain focused on serving our residents and clients," Greystar spokesperson Garrett Derderian said in a statement to the Mountain View Voice.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuits include the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and attorneys general in Virginia, Arizona, New York, Connecticut and Washington. The five states' attorneys general filed their unopposed motion to combine their lawsuit with the suit filed by the FTC on Tuesday. U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Trenga granted the motion on Wednesday. The lawsuits, which were filed within one day of each other roughly two months ago,

We are convinced that RealPage is part of the solution to addressing the cost of housing, helping operators make informed, independent decisions in a complex housing market. We are pleased to have reached this agreement with the DOJ, which brings the clarity and stability we have long sought and allows us to move forward with a continued focus on innovation and the shared goal of better outcomes for both housing providers and renters.

Introduced in April 2021 with the release of iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5, Apple's ATT framework requires that all apps on ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ ask for the user's consent before tracking their activity across other apps. Apps that wish to track a user based on their device's unique advertising identifier can only do so if the user allows it when prompted.

Do you ever get the feeling that the internet isn't what it used to be? Well, tech critic Corey Doctorow thinks you're right and he has a term to describe it too: enshittification'. He lays out his three-step theory to Nosheen Iqbal, explaining why sites from Amazon to Google to Instagram seem to offer a worsening experience and what can be done to stop it.

In a motion filed on Wednesday, the plaintiffs' counsel wrote that NAR's decision to change its MLS policies was essentially NAR admitting that those requirements are a violation of antitrust law. This admission is critical to the issues raised by Plaintiffs in their complaint and rebut the Defendants' arguments that the previous policy of the NAR requiring membership in its organization in order for brokers and agents to access the MLS did not violate antitrust law and were not wrongful, the filing states.

Portland City Council voted Wednesday night to adopt Councilor Angelita Morillo's proposed AI rental price-fixing ban, with eight councilors in support. In addition to co-sponsors Green, and Koyama Lane, the ordinance was approved by Councilors Dunphy, Avalos, Kanal, Loretta Smith, and Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney. Clark and Ryan voted no, and Councilors Steve Novick and Eric Zimmerman were absent. After months of uncertainty, a policy to ban the sale or use of algorithmic rental price-fixing software in Portland is back on the table.

Oregon's attorney general says the software allows landlords to "coordinate rent increases rather than competing independently."

Real estate's biggest turf war is playing out this week in a Manhattan courtroom, where a federal judge must decide if the so-called "Zillow ban" is fair. Compass, the nation's largest real estate brokerage by sales volume, is fighting the ban, under which Zillow excludes home listings from its site and penalizes brokers when properties were previously listed as private "exclusives" elsewhere.

A yearslong fight between the Federal Trade Commission and Meta, which dates back to when it was still called Facebook, has ended with Meta prevailing, and a federal judge declaring that the company likely does not hold a monopoly in the social media sphere anymore.

Idealo pursued legal action against Google, claiming that the Alphabet subsidiary was "self-preferencing" its own platforms, which led to unfair market advantages that hindered competitors. The company first demanded at least 3.3 billion euros, or more than $3.8 billion, in damages in February 2025. To counter, Google said it made changes in 2017 that allowed competing shopping platforms the same opportunity as Google Shopping to display ads through Google Search.

A cancer patient might live in a town with four oncology groups, but only one accepts his insurance the one owned by his insurer. A young couple could see huge bills after their child is born, because their insurer agreed to the health system's rates in exchange for a contract with obstetricians across the country. A woman might have to pay a big sum she can't afford for basic lab tests at a hospital

If the parties fail to engage in discovery due to pending settlement negotiations, the court said that this will not be grounds for continuance of the trial date. Judge Moore's order did not specify if the trial was set to be a jury trial or a non-jury trial. The lawsuit was originally filed in late April 2024 against HomeServices of America and its subsidiaries, BHH Affiliates and HSF Affiliates.