Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Driven Cartels Challenge Traditional Antitrust Approaches, Experts Conclude at HSE Conference

 

Digital cartels and algorithmic coordination were among the central topics discussed at the 10th Anniversary International Conference “Antitrust Policy: Science, Practice, Education,” organized by FAS Russia, HSE University and the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre. Officials from BRICS and EAEU competition authorities, judges, researchers and practitioners examined how AI technologies reshape global markets and complicate traditional antitrust enforcement.

During the session “Artificial Intelligence vs. Cartels,” Alexey Ivanov, Director of the BRICS Competition Centre, emphasized that algorithmic coordination represents a new form of cartelization. He noted that algorithms can synchronize prices without human intent or explicit agreements, creating “black boxes” that regulators struggle to interpret. While classical cartels relied on meetings and documented communication, digital cartels may evolve autonomously, react in milliseconds and scale across entire platforms.

Ivanov referenced emerging global enforcement practice that illustrates these challenges. In the United States, the RealPage case has demonstrated how revenue-management software coordinating rental prices across a market can lead to cartel-like outcomes, resulting in dozens of settlements and creating a new benchmark for assessing algorithmic collusion. Similar issues arise in ride-hailing and online marketplaces, where centralized algorithmic systems influence pricing, ranking and access to key tools such as the Buy Box. Risks of algorithmic price management, he noted, also exist on Russian platforms. In global commodity trade, digital platforms such as Covantis show how blockchain-based systems may consolidate, rather than decentralize, market power.

According to Ivanov, some forms of digital coordination are becoming structural features of modern markets. Regulators therefore need to understand how algorithms operate and develop tools that differentiate harmful coordination from efficiency-enhancing mechanisms. This includes transparency requirements for algorithms, real-time monitoring, increased technical capacity within antitrust agencies and expanded international cooperation.

The conference underscored a growing consensus: AI-driven coordination is transforming markets faster than traditional antitrust tools can respond. Experts agreed that enforcement approaches must evolve accordingly to ensure that digital markets remain open, transparent and competitive.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre.