California AB 325 (2025) — Cartwright Act Amendment on Common Pricing Algorithms
California · AB 325 (2025), amending the Cartwright Act (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 16700 et seq.)
This law amends California's main antitrust statute, the Cartwright Act, to address algorithmic price-fixing. It makes it unlawful to use or distribute a common pricing algorithm — a methodology that uses competitor data to recommend, align, stabilize, set, or influence a price or term — as part of an agreement or conspiracy to restrain trade, or to coerce another party into adopting a recommended price. It also makes it easier to bring antitrust conspiracy claims.
Technical detail
AB 325 amends the Cartwright Act to prohibit using or distributing a common pricing algorithm (a methodology using competitor data to recommend/align/stabilize/set/influence a price or term) as part of a contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade, or coercing another to adopt a recommended price, and lowers the antitrust-conspiracy pleading standard.
Who is protected: Consumers and competitors in California markets harmed by algorithmic price coordination.
Who must comply: Businesses and individuals that use or distribute pricing algorithms in California commerce, including vendors of such tools.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | California |
|---|---|
| Level | State |
| Status | In effect |
| Protection strength | Limited protection |
| Effective date | 2026-01-01 |
| Enacted | 2025-10-08 |
| Citation | AB 325 (2025), amending the Cartwright Act (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 16700 et seq.) |
| Enforced by | California Attorney General and district attorneys (Cartwright Act enforcement), plus private litigants. |
| Private right of action | Yes — individuals can sue |
| Penalties | Cartwright Act penalties — corporate criminal fines up to $6 million per violation (ceiling raised by companion bill SB 763) or twice the gross gain or loss, plus civil remedies. |
| Topics | automated decision-making · consumer protection |
| Last verified | 2026-06-16 |
| Official source | AB-325 Cartwright Act: pricing algorithms ↗ |
More AI rules in California
- CCPA/CPRA + ADMT Regulations · In effect
- AB 2013 (Training Data Transparency) · In effect
- SB 942 (AI Transparency Act) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- SB 53 (Frontier AI Safety) · In effect
- AB 2839 (Election Deepfakes) · Blocked / in litigation
- AB 602 (Deepfake Intimate Images) · In effect
Related automated decision-making rules elsewhere
- FTC Act Section 5 (unfair/deceptive AI) · In effect
- FCRA (AI in credit & background checks) · In effect
- ECOA / Regulation B (AI credit discrimination) · In effect
- Title VII / ADA (AI hiring) · In effect
- ACA § 1557 (AI in patient care) · In effect
- Federal AI Executive Orders · In effect
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