Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the U.S. Department of Justice discusses the agency’s scrutiny of middleman companies leveraging artificial intelligence to stifle competition. Highlights include ongoing investigations into firms like RealPage and UnitedHealth Group, emphasising the need for stringent regulation of A.I. tools for pricing. Kanter also addresses antitrust challenges in dynamic pricing and healthcare systems, while shedding light on A.I. investments by companies like Microsoft and OpenAI.
Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, the leading antitrust official at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), recently discussed the agency’s focus on middleman companies and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (A.I.). He emphasized that the DOJ is scrutinizing companies that use their intermediary role to suppress competition or inflate costs.
Under his leadership, the DOJ has already initiated high-profile actions, such as suing to break up Ticketmaster and Live Nation. The department is currently investigating other companies, including RealPage, a property management firm using A.I. for pricing, and UnitedHealth Group, a healthcare conglomerate. Kanter highlighted that A.I. tools used for price-fixing need to be regulated as strictly as traditional methods of collusion.
Kanter also noted the complexities introduced by dynamic pricing and the importance of competition in the healthcare system, which is rife with intermediaries like pharmacy benefit managers. These entities, he argues, often drive up costs while making key healthcare decisions.
Furthermore, Kanter addressed antitrust issues related to A.I. investments, specifically with Microsoft and OpenAI. He stated that the corporate structure does not change how antitrust laws are applied, emphasizing that market realities are what matter.
In the political arena, Donald Trump’s proposal to eliminate taxes on tips seeks to appeal to the service sector but could significantly increase the federal deficit, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
These initiatives and investigations reflect the current administration’s aggressive antitrust enforcement agenda ahead of the upcoming presidential election.
