McDonald's sued over alleged AI-driven price fixing

McDonald's is facing a federal lawsuit accusing it of using an AI-based tool to coordinate menu pricing among its independently owned US franchises. The suit alleges this practice amounts to antitrust violations, claiming the AI system collects transaction data to suggest prices across roughly 14,000 stores and results in unfairly increased costs for customers. McDonald's denies the allegations, saying franchisees set prices independently and the AI tool is only a non-mandatory recommendation.

• Lawsuit alleges AI tool used for coordinating franchise pricing
• Filed as a proposed nationwide class action in Chicago federal court
• Claims AI-based recommendations led to inflated menu prices
• McDonald's denies automating or coordinating franchise pricing
• About 14,000 US restaurants potentially affected