Do you ever feel like someone is watching you online? For many Americans, that concern is more than just a feeling.
Major corporations collect significant amounts of personal data whenever people use the internet. According to Ohio Sen. Louis Blessing III, R-Colerain Township, that digital footprint can be extremely profitable.
“If you punch something into the computer, somebody’s going to be storing that data,” Blessing said. “This sort of stuff is being tracked, logged; there’s big money to be made in this.”
One way companies use consumer data is by setting prices automatically through algorithms, often with the help of artificial intelligence. That practice can make it difficult, if not impossible, for consumers to shop for the best deal.
In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice accused the software company RealPage of using information about apartment rentals in its AI algorithm to generate rental prices for landlords. According to the Justice Department, this led to higher profits for landlords and higher prices for renters. RealPage settled with the DOJ without admitting any wrongdoing.
Now, Blessing and several other lawmakers in the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives want to address what he calls “algorithmic price fixing.” Blessing compares the practice to the “smoke-filled rooms” of the robber baron era.
Traditional price gouging is already illegal in Ohio under the Valentine Antitrust Act, which has been in place for more than 120 years. By sponsoring Senate Bill 79, Blessing hopes to ban algorithmic price fixing under the same law.
“Broadly speaking, it makes it a violation of the Valentine Act if you use or distribute an AI-based algorithm that is trained upon nonpublic data,” Blessing said. “It also requires disclosure from relatively large businesses if they have $5 million or more in gross receipts.”
Blessing said he is also concerned that similar technology could be used by companies to suppress wages, making it difficult for job seekers to compare potential salaries among employers. He believes these practices contribute to the national cost-of-living crisis and have political consequences.
“Whether it’s RealPage making rents higher or some other prospective company making wages lower, that makes the affordability issue worse,” he said. “If you can’t solve it, then you start running into electoral problems.”
Senate Bill 79 is co-sponsored by Sen. Willis Blackshear Jr., D-Dayton. A companion bill is being prepared for introduction in the House by Rep. Christine Cockley, D-Columbus.