Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, plans to call on Congress to strengthen antitrust enforcement on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and to reform merger review laws to enhance transparency. In prepared remarks scheduled for release, Warren emphasizes that companies should not be exempt from antitrust scrutiny simply because they deploy algorithms.
Warren highlighted concerns about the potential misuse of AI, citing scenarios where companies might use it to inflate prices illegally, such as rent increases amid a national housing affordability crisis. The Justice Department under the Biden administration has pursued legal action against alleged algorithmic price-fixing in sectors including food and housing. In these cases, industry participants reportedly shared nonpublic pricing information through software tools, which regulators argue resulted in higher apartment rents and meat prices. The Justice Department reached settlements in both cases during the Trump administration.
Following these legal actions, several states, including California, Connecticut, and New York, have moved to prohibit price-setting software that relies on aggregated nonpublic data. However, no comprehensive federal legislation has yet been enacted on this issue.
Warren, who campaigned on reining in corporate power during her 2020 Democratic presidential bid, is also advocating for reforms that would require greater disclosure during federal merger reviews. Current U.S. law mandates that all transactions exceeding $134 million undergo antitrust evaluation and observe a 30-day waiting period before closing. Unlike regulatory bodies in Europe and the United Kingdom, U.S. enforcers keep most merger review information confidential, disclosing details only if they reach court settlements. Warren criticized previous enforcement under the Trump administration for allowing some deals to proceed without public notice or settlement agreements.
She argued Congress should provide antitrust agencies with enhanced tools, including public notices of merger review deadlines, increased oversight of settlement agreements, and streamlined procedures to dismantle large illegal mergers. Senate Democrats have introduced bills aimed at raising scrutiny of merger settlements and easing the process of breaking up previously completed deals. However, these proposals have not progressed due to the Republican majority in the Senate. Warren noted that a shift in Senate control following the November midterm elections could improve prospects for passing such legislation.