US lawmakers, in letter, question McDonald’s CEO about algorithmic pricing practices

US Senator Elizabeth Warren and four other Democratic lawmakers have questioned McDonald’s chief executive Chris Kempczinski about the company’s use of algorithmic pricing tools. They said the system could push consumers to pay more and help franchisees coordinate prices, and have asked for information about how it works and whether it received antitrust review.

The letter, dated 2 November, cites reporting that McDonald’s uses machine learning to recommend “optimal” prices for menu items at each restaurant, partly based on estimates of what typical customers may pay. The lawmakers asked whether loyalty-program data is used and how franchisees are encouraged to follow recommendations, requesting a response by 16 November. McDonald’s says its tools do not use individual customer data, are not mandatory, and that franchisees set their own prices; two recent lawsuits allege illegal price coordination.