DC attorney general sues 14 landlords over RealPage rent collusion
The Attorney General of Washington DC filed a lawsuit against 14 large landlords, alleging they used RealPage's YieldStar software to form “a District-wide housing cartel” that artificially inflated rents. The complaint claims RealPage's pricing algorithm used data supplied by the landlords and pressurised them to follow its rate recommendations, with one firm's internal presentation stating at least 95% compliance was expected. This alleged scheme caused residents to pay millions of dollars above fair market prices during a housing affordability crisis.
- Company involved
- Greystar Management Services
- AI system involved
- YieldStar
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Arity collected drivers' data via apps for insurance scores
Popular smartphone apps including Life360, MyRadar and GasBuddy reportedly shared users' location and motion data with Arity, an Allstate-owned company. Arity used the data to calculate driving scores that could be sold to car insurers to set rates. Users were said not to be clearly informed that their data would be used for insurance pricing. Life360 and Arity stated that users had to opt in and that no personally identifiable driving data was shared without consent.
- Company involved
- Arity
- AI system involved
- Arity IQ network
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Zillow shuts down iBuying after algorithms cause $380 million loss
Zillow shut down its Zillow Offers iBuying business after its pricing algorithms, known as Zestimates, consistently overvalued homes. The company purchased thousands of homes at above-market prices and is now selling many at a loss, expecting to lose an estimated $380 million. Zillow attributed the failure to the algorithms' inability to accurately forecast home prices in a volatile market. The company will write off $569 million in home inventory and lay off 25% of its staff.
- Company involved
- Zillow
- AI system involved
- Zestimates
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Oracle faces US privacy class action over alleged surveillance of five billion people
Oracle is facing a class action lawsuit in California, alleging that its adtech and advertising subsidiaries collected vast amounts of data from internet users without consent, creating detailed profiles on approximately five billion people. The suit, filed by privacy advocates including Dr Johnny Ryan, claims Oracle's practices violate multiple federal and state laws. Oracle declined to comment on the litigation, which remains pending.
- Company involved
- Oracle
1 source article · read the reporting →
HUD charges Facebook with housing discrimination over ad targeting
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) charged Facebook with violating the Fair Housing Act by enabling housing discrimination through its targeted advertising platform. HUD alleges that Facebook allowed advertisers to exclude users from seeing housing ads based on race, religion, national origin, and other protected characteristics, and that its machine learning tools may have grouped users by these traits. Facebook had previously settled with civil rights groups and made changes to its ad system, but HUD proceeded with the charge. Facebook expressed surprise and said it had taken significant steps to prevent discrimination.
- Company involved
- Facebook
- AI system involved
- Facebook ad-targeting system
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Life360 sells precise location data of millions of users to data brokers
Life360, a family safety app used by 33 million people, sells precise location data of its users to approximately a dozen data brokers, according to interviews with former employees. The company removes obvious identifiers but does not adequately anonymize the data, allowing potential re-identification. Life360 announced it will stop sales to some brokers after the investigation.
- Company involved
- Life360
- AI system involved
- Life360 app
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Sidewalk Labs releases Toronto waterfront plan amid privacy concerns
Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Alphabet, released a 1,500-page plan for a new development on Toronto's eastern waterfront, including the Quayside site. The plan involves extensive data collection and management, raising privacy concerns from critics and the public. Waterfront Toronto, the overseeing body, is reviewing the plan and has expressed concerns about its scope and data governance. The company has proposed an independent trust to oversee data, but critics remain unsatisfied.
- Company involved
- Sidewalk Labs
- AI system involved
- Quayside development
10 source articles · read the reporting →
ByteDance scraped Instagram content to fuel Flipagram growth
ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, scraped hundreds of thousands of profiles, videos, and usernames from Instagram, Snapchat, and Musical.ly without users' consent. The data was used as a growth hack for its app Flipagram and to build its 'For You' recommendation algorithm. Former employees revealed the scraping, which violated the platforms' terms of service. TikTok has not commented on the allegations.
- Company involved
- ByteDance
- AI system involved
- Flipagram
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Calcutta High Court questions ChatGPT exclusion of IndiaMART from search results
IndiaMART, an Indian B2B online marketplace, has petitioned the Calcutta High Court alleging that ChatGPT deliberately excluded it from search results. The company claims the exclusion was based on a United States Trade Representative report and caused loss of goodwill, reputation and commercial injury. The court observed there appeared to be selective discrimination but declined to pass interim orders before hearing the other side. The matter is listed for 13 January 2026.
- Company involved
- OpenAI
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Google sues Chinese gang over AI-powered fraud targeting Americans
Google has filed a lawsuit against a Chinese cybercrime group called Outsider Enterprise, alleging it used Google's Gemini AI to create hundreds of fake websites impersonating companies and government services. The group allegedly sent millions of phishing messages to Android users, defrauding hundreds of thousands of Americans of millions of dollars. Google is coordinating with the FBI and wireless carriers to dismantle the network. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, seeks an injunction to take down the operation.
- Company involved
- Outsider Enterprise
- AI system involved
- Gemini
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Brooklyn landlord abandons facial recognition plan after tenant protests
Robert Nelson, president of Nelson Management Group, planned to install a facial recognition system at Atlantic Plaza Towers, a rent-stabilized building in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Tenants protested, citing privacy concerns and studies showing the technology disproportionately impacts people of color. After a town hall meeting, Nelson announced he was withdrawing the application with the state housing agency. The reversal was seen as a victory by tenants, who continue to push for legislation banning facial recognition in residential buildings.
- Company involved
- Nelson Management Group
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Bankrate Publishes AI-Generated Article with Numerous Factual Errors, Deletes After Futurism Inquiry
Bankrate published an AI-generated article about the best places to live in Colorado that contained multiple factual errors, including incorrect median home prices and unemployment rates. The article was removed after Futurism pointed out the mistakes. A Bankrate spokesperson blamed the errors on outdated data from an internal database, claiming the article was editor-reviewed. The incident follows a previous scandal where CNET and Bankrate paused AI content after similar errors, but the company has resumed AI article publication.
- Company involved
- Bankrate
1 source article · read the reporting →
West Virginia Couple Targeted in AI-Generated Real Estate Scam
Raegan Bartlo received an email on August 23, 2024, that appeared to be from her title company lawyer, instructing her to wire a $255,000 down payment for her new home. The email was part of a scam using generative AI to impersonate real estate professionals. Cybersecurity officials say such scams are occurring across the country, targeting homebuyers. The Bartlos were targets, but it is unclear if they lost any money.
1 source article · read the reporting →
RealPage's YieldStar algorithm pushes rents higher for tenants
RealPage's YieldStar algorithm uses private competitor data to recommend rent increases for apartment units. Landlords adopt up to 90% of the suggestions, leading to higher rents for tenants. Critics allege the software may facilitate indirect price-fixing in violation of antitrust law. The company denies wrongdoing and says the software helps eliminate collusion.
- Company involved
- RealPage
- AI system involved
- YieldStar
10 source articles · read the reporting →
West Jordan Data Center Noise Frustrates Nearby Residents - Hoodline
The data center's generators produced intrusive noise that disturbed residents' sleep and daily life.
- Company involved
- Aligned Data Centers
1 source article · read the reporting →
UDR Sued Over Alleged Use of RealPage Algorithm to Set Rents in San Diego
A class action lawsuit alleges that UDR, Inc. used RealPage's YieldStar algorithmic pricing software to set rental rates and occupancy levels for its San Diego properties, in violation of a local ordinance. The suit claims the software relied on nonpublic competitor data, contributing to inflated rents and making housing less affordable. The lawsuit, filed in July 2026, seeks to represent all affected tenants. UDR has previously acknowledged using YieldStar as one tool among others in its decision-making.
- Company involved
- UDR, Inc.
- AI system involved
- RealPage YieldStar
1 source article · read the reporting →
Facebook still allows discriminatory ads despite settlement
A Wisconsin health care agency, Tenderness Health Care, posted a job ad on Facebook targeting users under 55 with 'African American multicultural affinity.' Federal law prohibits such age and race discrimination in job ads. The Markup found the ad still appeared despite Facebook's 2019 settlement agreeing to change its practices. Facebook removed the ad after being contacted, but critics say the company's algorithm continues to deliver ads in a discriminatory manner.
- Company involved
- Facebook
- AI system involved
- Facebook Ads
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Guangxi homeowners lose homes in facial recognition fraud
Over 10 homeowners in Guangxi, China, were defrauded by a real estate agent who used the government's '邕e登' app to transfer their property without consent. The agent tricked them into using facial recognition for what they thought was file checking, but instead the system processed property transfers. The agent has been arrested and the case is under investigation. The local government has restricted the properties and plans to upgrade the app's security.
- Company involved
- 南宁市自然资源局
- AI system involved
- 邕e登
10 source articles · read the reporting →
FTC settles with Sitejabber over reviews from customers who had not received goods
The US Federal Trade Commission has charged Sitejabber, an AI-enabled review platform, with deceiving consumers by publishing ratings and reviews submitted at the point of purchase, before buyers had received or experienced the products. The FTC alleges this artificially inflated average ratings and review counts for its clients. Sitejabber has agreed to a proposed consent order prohibiting it from making such misrepresentations in the future.
- Company involved
- Sitejabber
- AI system involved
- Sitejabber
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Facebook Allowed Age-Targeted Credit Card Ads Violating Its Policy
The Markup found that four companies—Aspiration, Hometap, Chime, and Varo Bank—ran Facebook ads for credit cards and home equity loans that were targeted by age, excluding users under 25 or 35. This practice violates Facebook's own anti-discrimination policy and may violate the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act. Facebook did not respond to requests for comment, and some advertisers said they would review their ad targeting.
- Company involved
- Facebook
- AI system involved
- Facebook Ad Platform
9 source articles · read the reporting →
Airbnb smart-pricing algorithm increased racial revenue gap, study finds
A study by Carnegie Mellon University found that Airbnb's smart-pricing algorithm increased the revenue gap between White and Black hosts, even though it narrowed the gap among hosts who adopted it. The algorithm, which sets daily prices automatically, was adopted by fewer Black hosts, so its suggested prices were closer to the optimum for White hosts. The researchers said the tool could reduce racial disparities only if more Black hosts adopted it.
- Company involved
- Airbnb
- AI system involved
- Airbnb smart-pricing algorithm
10 source articles · read the reporting →
LoanDepot algorithm denied mortgage to Black couple in Charlotte
In August 2019, Crystal Marie and Eskias McDaniels, a Black couple, were denied a mortgage for a house in Charlotte, North Carolina, by loanDepot's automated underwriting algorithm. The algorithm rejected the application because Crystal Marie was a contractor, not a full-time employee, despite her high credit score and income. After the couple enlisted their real estate agent and employer to intervene, the lender reversed the decision and cleared them to close. The couple alleged that race played a role in the denial, which loanDepot denied.
- Company involved
- loanDepot
- AI system involved
- Classic FICO and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac automated underwriting software
10 source articles · read the reporting →
DeepSeek exposed user data via open ClickHouse database
Cloud security firm Wiz discovered a ClickHouse database belonging to DeepSeek that was open to the internet without authentication, containing over a million lines of logs with chat histories, secret keys and backend details. Wiz disclosed the breach to DeepSeek, which promptly locked down the database. The incident highlights security risks in rapidly deploying AI services.
- Company involved
- DeepSeek
- AI system involved
- DeepSeek-R1
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Exclusive: Zoox grounds Atlanta test fleet after workers report toxic gas exposure symptoms - TechCrunch
Exclusive: Zoox grounds Atlanta test fleet after workers report toxic gas exposure symptoms TechCrunch
1 source article · read the reporting →
