Can a recommendation coordinate prices?

If each restaurant can accept or ignore a recommendation, why would there be a competition issue? Because the lawsuit focuses on the information that feeds into the recommendation. Most McDonald’s restaurants in the United States belong to independent owners. If those restaurants compete with one another, knowing sales and pricing data from other locations that are not available to the public could influence what each one charges. The allegation is that the platform would serve as a channel for sharing that information and guiding prices. So the issue cannot be settled just by looking at who presses the final button. Exactly. A franchisee retaining the final decision matters, and it is central to McDonald’s defense. But the lawsuit also calls for examining where the recommended figure comes from and how it is used. In the plaintiffs’ view, that sequence would have unfairly raised menu prices.

Full episode: https://youtu.be/fmhhS9YQhwI

🤖 AI-generated content: the script, voices, and images in this episode were produced using artificial intelligence tools.

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