The Forum Newsletter | December 6, 2025

Published on Dec 05, 2025

Dear Reader,

In this issue of The Forum, we present analysis and commentary from experts across law, policy, and industry, examining the evolving relationship between technology, regulation, and market dynamics.

We invite you to read, reflect, and share The Forum with your colleagues. You can complete the short form on this page to subscribe.

This week’s Forum features Sencer Ecer, Ph.D., on the political economy behind the spread of algorithmic retail price discrimination. David O. Fisher examines how algorithmic pricing is reshaping antitrust enforcement, challenging long-standing assumptions. Tara Pincock makes the case for a tougher approach to holding price-fixers accountable. And Stacy Mitchell explores how Amazon’s expanding role in public purchasing highlights the risks of algorithmic pricing.

We hope you enjoy this issue!

— The Capitol Forum Team

In this Issue

Amazon’s Growing Role in Public Purchasing Shows the Dangers of Algorithmic Pricing

By Stacy Mitchell, Co-Executive Director at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance Amazon is quietly engineering a profound shift in how cities and school districts buy routine supplies. The company has persuaded thousands of local governments to abandon competitive bidding and fixed-price contracts — the core safeguards of public-sector purchasing. In their place, agencies have signed […]

Can We Please Stop Letting Price-Fixers Off the Hook

By Tara Pincock, Policy Counsel at Open Markets Institute Let’s begin with a basic principle under the antitrust laws: Businesses are required to make pricing decisions independently. Coordinating with competitors or using a third-party intermediary to fix prices is against the law. Likewise, sharing nonpublic information with competitors is not allowed because doing so is […]

New Technologies, Old Assumptions: Meeting the Antitrust Challenge of Algorithmic Pricing

By David O. Fisher, Senior Counsel at the American Antitrust Institute As algorithmic pricing transforms our markets, the antitrust laws are being tested in new ways. Empirical evidence demonstrates that pricing algorithms facilitate price coordination, resulting in the textbook anticompetitive harms of higher prices and lower output. But they do so through complex and novel […]

The Political Economy of Widespread Algorithmic Retail Price Discrimination

By Sencer Ecer, Ph.D., Senior Vice President at Compass Lexecon in Washington, D.C. ***This article extends the version that was originally delivered to your inbox. Traditional forms of price discrimination such as those employed by airlines and hotels through temporal pricing, student fares, senior discounts on specific days, coupons, loyalty programs, and quantity-based discounts by […]

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