Realcomp II Reduced Competition- Harmed Consumers

… Says an FTC Ruling.

In a 4-0 ruling today, the FTC says Realcomp II acted to restrict consumers access to discounted listings through it’s websites, thus harming competition.

In its opinion announced today, the Commission found that “the practices at issue improperly limit consumers’ access to information about the availability of these lower-priced alternatives,” and . . . concluded “that [Realcomp’s] acts and practices unreasonably restrain trade in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act . . . and Section 5.” The Commission’s administrative decision resolves litigation arising from a complaint charging that Realcomp’s policies violate Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

The release from the FTC is rich with disruptive language- red meat for hungry progressives.

the Commission wrote, “illustrate how technological dynamism and organizational innovation can place enormous pressure on traditional business models and create possibilities for ‘the new commodity, the new technology, the new source of supply, the new type of organization’ [Joseph A. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy 84 (1942)] that can transform markets. Because [these] are powerful stimulants for economic progress, an especially important application of antitrust law is to see that incumbent service providers do not use improper means to suppress innovation-driven competition that benefits consumers.”

Source Matthew Hardy- submit breaking real estate news