Penalty Amount
$7,000,000
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a $7 million settlement with Greystar Management Services LLC for using RealPage's algorithmic software to illegally align rent prices with competitors by sharing confidential pricing information, violating antitrust laws. Greystar must cease using such anticompetitive algorithms, refrain from data sharing, accept monitoring, and cooperate in the ongoing case against RealPage.
Greystar must pay $7 million in penalties and fees, refrain from using any anticompetitive algorithm that uses rivals' competitively sensitive data, stop sharing such information with competitors, accept a court-appointed monitor if using non-certified pricing algorithms, avoid attending RealPage-hosted meetings, and cooperate with the states' monopolization claims against RealPage.
In-house legal teams should review all vendor and software licensing agreements with third-party pricing or revenue management software providers (e.g., RealPage) to identify clauses permitting or requiring the sharing of competitively sensitive pricing data. Specific clauses to scrutinize include data sharing provisions, algorithm use and output licensing, confidentiality terms, and any representations/warranties regarding antitrust compliance. Customer agreements, particularly those involving property management or leasing services, should also be examined for clauses that might mandate or facilitate price coordination with competitors. Required changes may include amending contracts to explicitly prohibit the sharing of confidential pricing information with competitors, removing any requirements to input sensitive data into shared algorithmic systems, and adding robust antitrust compliance warranties and audit rights.
Entity
Greystar Management Services LLC
Also known as: Greystar
Industry
Real EstateOfficial Press Release
https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-announces-7-million-settlement-greystar-participating
attorney general bonta files amended complaint realpage laws
https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-files-amended-complaint-realpage-lawsuit-seeks-hold
158 1
https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/158-1.pdf
California Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/privacy-enforcement-actions
"Greystar Management Services LLC (Greystar)"
"$7 million in penalties and fees"
"used RealPage’s revenue management system to align rental prices with competing landlords by illegally sharing and gathering confidential pricing information"
$7.0M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a bipartisan coalition of nine states in a $7 million settlement with Greystar Management Services LLC, the largest U.S. landlord, for anticompetitive algorithmic pricing practices. Greystar shared competitively sensitive data with competitors via RealPage's algorithms and discussed pricing strategies, leading to inflated rents. The consent decree prohibits such conduct, requires monitoring if using uncertified algorithms, and bars participation in RealPage competitor meetings.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, joined by attorneys general from seven other states, filed a lawsuit to block the $6.2 billion merger between Nexstar Media Group and Tegna Inc. The lawsuit alleges the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act by reducing competition in local TV markets, leading to higher prices, less local news, and job losses.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education to block the expansion of IPEDS data collection requiring colleges to submit race-linked student data. The lawsuit argues the demand is arbitrary, capricious, and burdensome, and could enable costly partisan investigations. A multistate coalition co-led the challenge.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of state attorneys general announced they will continue their antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation/Ticketmaster after the U.S. Department of Justice settled the case. The states aim to hold Live Nation accountable for anticompetitive conduct that harms consumers, artists, and venues in the live music industry.
$376K
The California Privacy Protection Agency (CalPrivacy) settled with Ford Motor Company requiring the company to pay a $375,703 fine and change its practices. Ford violated the CCPA by requiring consumers to complete an email verification step before they could opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information collected through digital properties and connected vehicle services. In addition to the fine, Ford must provide easy methods to submit opt-out requests with minimal steps, audit its tracking technologies, and ensure compliance with opt-out preference signals including Global Privacy Control.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, co-leading a bipartisan coalition of 21 attorneys general and charitable regulators, sent a letter to GoFundMe demanding the platform remove all plagiarized donation web pages for over 1.4 million charities, disclose information about donations, and ensure pages do not outrank official charity sites in search results. The action follows reports that GoFundMe used charities' information without consent and engaged in deceptive solicitations, violating state charitable solicitation and consumer protection laws.