McDonald’s taps law firm White & Case in cases alleging AI-powered price-fixing
MCD•McDonald’s has hired White & Case to defend it against proposed class actions alleging it used AI-assisted pricing tools to coordinate menu prices across US restaurants. McDonald’s denies wrongdoing and says franchisees set prices individually.
1. Lawsuits in Chicago
White & Case lawyers entered appearances on Monday in federal lawsuits in Chicago. The cases, filed in October, allege McDonald’s conspired with independent franchisees to fix prices using algorithms trained on nonpublic data, causing customers to pay higher prices.
2. McDonald’s denies claims
McDonald’s says its franchisees set prices individually and that “AI does not set the price of a Big Mac or any other menu item.”
