“Is it okay for a guy named Bob to collect confidential price strategy information from all the participants in a market and then tell everybody how they should price?” she asked. “If it isn’t okay for a guy named Bob to do it, then it probably isn’t okay for an algorithm to do it either.”
It’s a good principle but I think it /is/ legal for Bob to do that because Bob could do it without explicit agreements. They give the sensitive info to Bob (which is legal outside of San Francisco) and Bob suggests prices. Without agreements in place they simply trust that Bob’s hint will work to their benefit and they follow along on the basis of trust rather than agreement.
It’s a good principle but I think it /is/ legal for Bob to do that because Bob could do it without explicit agreements. They give the sensitive info to Bob (which is legal outside of San Francisco) and Bob suggests prices. Without agreements in place they simply trust that Bob’s hint will work to their benefit and they follow along on the basis of trust rather than agreement.
Dude. If you have any impact on pricing, you need to revisit your company’s pricing training or talk to a lawyer.
You could realistically end up in jail.
At least read the Sherman antitrust act.
This is what we find in the Sherman act link you supplied:
(emphasis mine)
People go to jail under Sherman without a written agreement.
Don’t go to jail for your boss’s bonus.