Open Access Research Article

TACIT COLLUSION BY ALGORITHM: RETHINKING HORIZONTAL AGREEMENT FRAMEWORKS UNDER COMPETITION LAW

Author(s):
HARSH VARDHAN SINGH KRITI SHARMA
Journal IJLRA
ISSN 2582-6433
Access Open Access
Volume 3
Issue 7
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Abstract

Competition law draws its central line between unlawful agreement and lawful independent conduct. Self-learning pricing algorithms blur that line: they can reach and sustain supra-competitive prices without any exchange of assurances between human decision-makers. This paper asks whether the horizontal-agreement frameworks of the United States, the European Union and, in particular, India can accommodate that phenomenon. It classifies algorithmic pricing into three categories (algorithms as instruments of human cartels, shared-software or “hub-and-spoke” arrangements, and autonomous machine collusion) and compares the Sherman Act, Article 101 TFEU and Section 3 of the Competition Act, 2002. Drawing on the Supreme Court’s reading of “agreement” in section 2(b), the Competition Commission of India’s cartel jurisprudence, the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023 and the CCI’s 2025 Market Study on Artificial Intelligence and Competition, the paper argues that the first two categories are largely manageable under existing doctrine, whereas the third exposes a genuine enforcement gap. It proposes a structured evidentiary approach built on algorithmic plus factors, rebuttable presumptions and a standard of “algorithmic foreseeability,” together with Indian-specific reforms in evidence, remedies and institutional capacity.

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Authors: HARSH VARDHAN SINGH & KRITI SHARMARegistration ID: 1013345 | Published Paper ID: IJLRA13345 & IJLRA13346Year: Oct-2026 | Volume: 3 | Issue: 7Approved ISSN: 2582-6433 | Country: Delhi, IndiaPage No.: 961- 983

Article Information

TACIT COLLUSION BY ALGORITHM: RETHINKING HORIZONTAL AGREEMENT FRAMEWORKS UNDER COMPETITION LAW

Authors: HARSH VARDHAN SINGH, KRITI SHARMA

  • Journal IJLRA
  • ISSN 2582-6433
  • Volume 3
  • Issue 7
Citation Download Paper Full Details Search on Google Search on Google Scholar

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International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis

  • AbbreviationIJLRA
  • ISSN2582-6433
  • AccessOpen Access
  • LicenseCC 4.0

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