The U.S. Justice Department has expanded its lawsuit to include additional corporate landlords accused of using competitors' data to fix prices. The Competition Bureau, maintaining confidentiality, has stated it will take action if it finds evidence of illegal activities. The issue has become a point of contention in Canadian politics, with Freeland criticizing her rival Mark Carney, who was previously associated with Brookfield Asset Management, a company implicated in the U.S. lawsuit. Carney has since resigned from Brookfield to pursue the Liberal leadership.
Key takeaways:
- The Competition Bureau is investigating the use of AI-driven algorithmic pricing in Canadian real estate rental markets.
- An American antitrust lawsuit alleges companies used software to collude and inflate rents, involving RealPage’s YieldStar platform.
- The U.S. Justice Department added six more corporate landlords to the lawsuit for allegedly using competitors' data to fix prices.
- Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland proposes banning the use of AI to artificially raise rents, citing concerns over corporate landlords' practices.