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In February 2024, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar introduced her Preventing Algorithmic Collusion Act. “Companies are sharing confidential data via algorithms just as they once did in smoke-filled rooms,” Klobuchar told the New York Times (8/30/24). Algorithmic collusion is where companies illegally coordinate to raise prices through the use of an algorithm that they supply their data to, writes Times opinion writer Peter Coy. Each company has its own contract with the algorithmic provider who uses the companies’ data to make pricing recommendations that make them all richer—at the expense of their customers.
In August Vice President Kamala Harris vowed to crack down on “corporate landlords” that use price- setting software to jack up rents, should she be elected. Senator Klobuchar indicated that “you can see this going economy wide. It’s mind-blowing what could go wrong here unless something is done about algorithmic price-fixing,” she said. The 134 year old Sherman Anti-Trust Act could not foresee algorithmic collusion. University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Law professor Maurice Stucke told the Times, “As more companies outsource pricing to algorithms, algorithmic collusion will become a ‘bigger issue.’” “The invisible hand is replaced by the digital hands.” A 2023 Federal Trade Commission lawsuit alleged that Amazon.com created a secret algorithm to raise prices on products selectively based on the algorithm’s judgment of whether competitors will follow Amazon’s lead and raise their own prices. Professor Stucke said that “The algorithm learns on its own to collude. That is hard to get at under the antitrust laws.” Klobuchar’s bill doesn’t implicate all pricing algorithms—just ones that mash up confidential information from two or more competitors. The Federal Trade Commission ordered 8 companies to provide information on ‘surveillance pricing’ practices, according to a 7/23/24 ABC News report. “Americans deserve to know whether businesses are using detailed consumer data to deploy surveillance pricing,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said. Firms that harvest Americans’ personal data can put peoples’ privacy at risk. Firms could be exploiting this vast trove of personal information to charge people higher prices. Companies may offer products and services using consumer data (including credit information, location and browsing history) to charge different customers different prices for the same goods. The FTC will question third party intermediaries claiming to use advanced algorithms, artificial intelligence and other technology. “The FTC inquiry will shed light on this shadowy eco-system of pricing middlemen,” Khan said. Federal Trade Commission orders were sent to Mastercard, Revionics, Bloomreach, JPMorgan Chase, Task Software, PROS, Accenture and McKinsey & Co.
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Not sure how engaged you are with local politics, but recently there was an important decision made that impacts many people in Luzerne County. The Luzerne County election board announced the removal of the drop boxes for the November elections due to security concerns raised by the PA Department of State.
The right to vote is one of the most important rights we have as American citizens. For many years that right was denied to many segments of our population, only changing after much suffering and several major significant political movements throughout our history. But is the right to vote now guaranteed to everyone? Recently, many states have passed laws that make voting more difficult for a large segment of our population. These laws frequently impact low socioeconomic populations through restrictive policies, challenging identification requirements, or limiting access. Because of these restrictions there are many people who just don’t vote because it’s too time consuming or difficult. It’s these people that we need to share our fire of commitment with. Today, after the service, we will be personalizing letters to people with low socioeconomic status in the State of Pennsylvania urging them to get out and vote. The organization we are working with is called Vote Forward. Here is a little bit about it: Vote Forward’s flagship voter contact program trains and supports volunteers writing personal, heartfelt letters to potential voters with an easy-to-use online platform. The majority of our letter-writing campaigns are nonpartisan campaigns, supporting our core 501c(3) and 501c(4) social-welfare mission, which focus on mobilizing potential voters in communities that have historically been marginalized in the political process—such as people of color, women, and young voters. Vote Forward is an organization that is supported by UU Justice PA, and we have participated with it before. If you would like to join us today, we have the letters that we will personalize, the envelopes, and the stamps in the back office. Depending upon the number of participants, this should not take us more than a few minutes, but we will start off with some instructions. Because the letters are personalized, it is important that the right letter gets in the right envelope, and there and some instructions on what your personal message should and should not say. So if you would like to feed that fire of commitment that was hopefully lit today, please join Beth and I in the back room after refreshments. There is a current push by many members of the GOP to add voter legislation to the funding bill needed to keep the US government funded past October 1 st . While they claim these measures are necessary to secure our elections, in reality they are designed to make it harder for many to legally vote. The proposed legislation would enact a nationwide requirement that anyone requesting a mail in ballot needs to send a copy of their ID.
According to the Brennen center, similar legislation that was enacted in Texas has resulted in voters of color having their mail in ballots rejected over 30% as often as white voters. The proposed legislation would also impose significant restrictions for voters in D.C. such as requiring all mail in ballot drop boxes be located in federal buildings with 24 hour electronic surveillance. In addition, the proposed legislation would also remove the $2 million dollar per donor limit to political parties allowing even more influence from the ultra wealthy in our political system. |
The Social Action Minute
One of the most popular features of our Sunday services is our Social Action Minute. During this time, a member of the Social Action Committee speaks on a topic of their choice in order to bring awareness and a call to action to the members of our Congregation. These are the archives of the Social Action Minutes presented at our Sunday services. If you missed a service, or are interested in the topic, you can revisit it and get information here. Archives
October 2024
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