In the Media
California Senate Passes Landmark Legislation to Ban Algorithmic Price Fixing
09. 11. 2025
Statement from Teri Olle, Director of Economic Security California Action, on AB 325 Passing Through the California State Senate
SACRAMENTO – The California State Senate today passed AB 325 (Aguiar-Curry), groundbreaking legislation that would prohibit corporations from using algorithms and digital tools to artificially raise prices on essentials like housing and groceries. The bill, which passed with strong support, now heads to the Assembly for concurrence and onto Governor Newsom’s desk for signature.
AB 325 represents a critical step in addressing California’s affordability crisis by cracking down on tech-enabled price manipulation. Recent prominent users of such models include the real estate company RealPage, which has been accused of utilizing algorithmic software to help landlords collude in price-fixing schemes that drove rents up across U.S. cities—driving increases of up to 20% in the San Francisco Bay Area. This legislation would make it illegal for companies to use software to engage in the same price-fixing schemes that would be criminal conducted in a backroom handshake deal, ensuring that digital tools cannot be used to circumvent longstanding antitrust protections.
Teri Olle, Director of Economic Security California Action (ESCAA), a co-sponsor of the bill, issued the following statement:
“Today’s vote sends a clear message: Californians are fed up with corporations using secret algorithms to jack up prices on everything from rent to groceries. Whether it’s RealPage’s software allegedly costing renters an additional $3.8 billion in 2023 alone, or potato companies and meatpackers using shared data to coordinate price increases, these digital price collusion schemes are making life unaffordable for working families across our state.
The principle driving AB 325 is simple: if it’s illegal in a back room, it’s illegal on a laptop. This legislation directly confronts the tech-powered price crisis by holding accountable both the developers who create price-fixing algorithms and the companies that knowingly use them. It’s about restoring real competition to our markets and ensuring technology delivers prosperity for all, rather than padding corporate executives’ pockets.
Californians have had enough. From families seeing their rents skyrocket, to parents paying more at the checkout line, people are tired of being squeezed so billionaire CEOs can get richer. AB 325 will bring relief by modernizing our antitrust laws for the digital age and ensuring the Attorney General has the tools to protect consumers from these predatory practices. We urge Governor Newsom to sign this bill into law, protecting California families from price-fixing schemes that drive up costs and limit choices.”
AB 325 modernizes commonsense antitrust protections for the digital and AI era, ensuring California families are safeguarded against new forms of corporate collusion. After passing through the California State Senate, the bill now heads to the Assembly for concurrence and onto the governor’s desk for signature.