ABC7 / WJLA reported on Councilmember Will Jawando’s introduction of the Anti-Algorithmic Price Fixing Act, legislation designed to prevent landlords from using AI software to coordinate rental pricing and artificially inflate rents across Montgomery County.
“These are century-old anti-trust, anti-collusion laws that are being violated with new technology. No one is saying you can’t use AI — we’re just saying you can’t use AI to take prices of competitors, put it in the system, and inflate the cost overall for the consumer.”
— Will Jawando
Nearly 40% of Montgomery County residents are renters, and housing costs continue to rise, placing enormous pressure on families. Maryland’s Attorney General has previously filed a lawsuit alleging that certain pricing software artificially inflated rents. Jawando’s bill would bar coordinated pricing practices among landlords and ensure tenants are protected from algorithmic price fixing. A public hearing on the bill is scheduled for early March.