The Center for Data Innovation has filed comments with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding competition issues in the residential real estate brokerage industry. Traditional real estate brokers unfairly limit third-parties from using listing data, and these practices are hurting innovators and consumers. The FTC and DOJ should insist that listing data be made available to improve competition, innovation, and the consumer experience. Without intervention, real estate brokers will continue to restrict access to this data, even if this comes at the expense of consumers, because they want to avoid competition enabled by emerging digital services while preserving their higher commissions.
Comments to the FTC and DOJ on Competition in the Residential Real Estate Brokerage Industry
Daniel Castro
Daniel Castro is president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the world’s top-ranked think tank for science and technology policy, where he leads the organization’s work shaping debates on critical issues at the intersection of technological innovation and public policy. He is a prolific writer and respected public speaker on issues ranging from Internet policy and digital governance to artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. Castro also founded and is director of ITIF’s Center for Data Innovation, a leading voice on open data, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation. He has played a key role in advancing the OPEN Government Data Act and has long worked on the policy and economic impact of data-driven innovation. His work on AI spans a broad range of policy issues, including adoption and diffusion, privacy and security, intellectual property, deepfakes and information integrity, and the economic and competitive dynamics of AI, as well as global competition and governance—particularly in China and Europe.
