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McDonald’s is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit in the US over allegations that its AI-powered pricing technology helped coordinate menu prices across its restaurants. The complaint claims the fast-food giant used shared, non-public sales data to influence pricing decisions at franchise locations.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Chicago and alleges that McDonald’s pricing practices violate US antitrust laws. The plaintiff is seeking to represent potentially millions of customers who may have paid higher prices as a result of the alleged practices.
The complaint focuses on McDonald’s use of machine-learning technology to analyse sales data and recommend prices for menu items. According to the allegations, the system draws on information from McDonald’s extensive US restaurant network.
The plaintiff argues that sharing pricing-related information between independently operated franchise restaurants could reduce the incentive for those businesses to set prices independently.
The lawsuit claims that the use of an algorithm to process this information does not remove the underlying antitrust concerns. Instead, it alleges that the technology could make price coordination easier across a large network of restaurants.
McDonald’s is expanding its use of artificial intelligence and machine learning across its operations. Its pricing technology analyses transaction data and other market factors to generate recommendations for individual restaurants.
The system can help restaurants assess factors such as demand, local market conditions and competitive pressures. Reuters previously reported that McDonald’s pricing engine processes millions of transactions across nearly 14,000 US restaurants.
The legal dispute comes as regulators, consumers and businesses grapple with the antitrust implications of algorithmic pricing. Courts and regulators in the US are increasingly examining whether companies can use shared data and pricing algorithms without creating conditions that facilitate coordination among competitors.
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