USA Law and Practice Contributed by: Robert Houck, William Lavery, Leigh Oliver and Joseph Ostoyich, Clifford Chance LLP
13. Looking Forward 13.1 Legislative Trends and Other Developments Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Algorithmic Co-Ordination
State attorneys general are also building up their anti - trust capabilities and can be expected to continue to pursue enforcement actions both in parallel with and independently of their federal counterparts, includ - ing under state antitrust laws that may diverge from federal standards. States may also seek to expand substantive liability frameworks, as illustrated by pro - posed legislation in California that would broaden the scope of antitrust liability under the Cartwright Act. This growing state involvement is likely to increase regulatory obligations for merging parties and compa - nies operating across multiple jurisdictions, requiring more co-ordinated strategies to manage overlapping investigations and enforcement risks. Digital Platform Regulation and Remedies Regulatory efforts related to digital platforms continue incrementally, with federal legislation still being pro - posed to target “self-preferencing” practices by app stores and other digital platforms. In the near term, courts will play the more significant role in shaping outcomes through case-specific remedies in litigation. An injunction imposed on Google by a California fed - eral court, following a 2023 jury trial in a case brought by Epic Games, is now taking effect after several years of post-trial proceedings; its effects on com - petition in mobile app distribution can be expected to offer useful insight for future policy efforts in this area. Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court is currently considering whether to review an injunction barring Apple from anti-steering practices involving its own app store, with the outcome of that review potentially having significant implications in this area.
Legislative and enforcement attention to AI and algo - rithmic pricing continues. Regulators, enforcers and courts are considering how existing antitrust princi - ples can and should be applied where competitors use common software tools that process their com - petitively sensitive information and generate pric - ing recommendations, raising concerns that such tools facilitate tacit or explicit collusion. These tools have been subject to scrutiny in recent enforcement actions, with enforcement actions by the Depart - ment of Justice leading to settlements with RealPage and large landlords. Policymakers may continue to explore targeted legislative responses, with the states of California and New York and several municipalities in the US enacting legislation restricting competitor co-ordination through pricing algorithms. Companies deploying algorithmic pricing models should antici - pate heightened examination of information inputs, model design, and the potential for these tools to facilitate co-ordination among competitors. Expansion of State Antitrust Enforcement The role of state attorneys general in antitrust enforce - ment continues to grow, contributing to a less central - ised and more complex regulatory landscape. Building on recent adoption of state-level pre-merger notifica - tion regimes, additional jurisdictions may introduce similar requirements or broaden existing authorities.
256 A NTITRUST LI T IGATI O N 2026
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