Slater to lead DOJ Antitrust division. TikTok in the Whitehouse? “Slater left the FTC in 2014, to become the vice-president for legal and regulatory policy for the Internet Association founded by Michael Beckerman. Beckerman is now VP at TikTok

 “RealPage said that “fewer than 10% of all rental housing units in the U.S. use RealPage software to suggest rental prices, and our software recommendations are accepted less than half the time.”

But a White House report in December said that number could be higher. It said RealPage and census data suggest that as many as 1 in 4 rentals nationwide use a RealPage pricing algorithm. And the company’s penetration is higher in some markets, it said.

Using models of what competitive markets would look like, researchers found that algorithmic pricing costs renters in units where it is used $70 more a month, or 4% of rent, on average. In six major metro areas, the cost exceeds $100 a month, the report found.

The report estimated the total added cost to renters from the use of such algorithms in 2023 to be roughly $3.8 billion.

RealPage said that the analysis is “riddled with flawed assumptions,” and that the White House never contacted the company about the report.

The fate of the Justice Department’s lawsuit under the incoming administration is unclear. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Gail Slater, a veteran antitrust attorney and economic advisor to JD Vance, to lead the department’s antitrust division.

FROM:

ProPublica 

Justice Department Sues Six of the Nation’s Largest Landlords in Effort to Stop Alleged Price-Fixing in Rental Markets

Federal prosecutors allege that the landlords have used RealPage pricing software to collude and artificially raise rents. The legal action is the latest development stemming from a 2022 ProPublica investigation.

Heather Vogell

Jan. 9, 2025, 5 a.m. EST

“Slater left the FTC in 2014, to become the vice-president for legal and regulatory policy for the Internet Association, a lobbying group, later becoming general counsel.”

The Internet Association (IA) was an American lobbying group based in Washington, D.C., which represented companies involved in the Internet.[1] It was founded in 2012 by Michael Beckerman

Michael Beckerman is an American lobbyist who is vice president at TikTok. Beckerman joined the short-form video app in February 2020, and leads its government relations office in Washington, DC.