This bill tackles a modern problem: companies using computer algorithms to set prices in ways that secretly coordinate with competitors. Imagine if two competing stores both used the same pricing software that shared each other's secret pricing information—that's what this law aims to prevent.

The bill makes it illegal for companies to use pricing algorithms that incorporate nonpublic competitor data (basically, secret information about what competitors are doing). It applies to any algorithm—whether it's simple software or advanced artificial intelligence—that sets or recommends prices or other business terms like discounts or service levels. Companies with $5 million or more in annual revenue must clearly tell customers and employees when an algorithm is setting their price, and they must disclose if different people are being charged different prices for the same thing.

To enforce this, the bill gives the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice new tools. They can demand detailed reports from companies about how their pricing algorithms work, what data they use, and whether they're engaging in price discrimination. Companies that violate these rules face daily fines of at least $10,000 (adjusted for inflation) or penalties equal to the total price of products sold using the illegal algorithm. The law also makes it easier for regulators to prove that companies are illegally coordinating prices through algorithms, even without direct evidence of a handshake deal.