Competition law enforcement audit

(a) In general A person using or distributing a pricing algorithm, upon a written request by the Attorney General or the Commission, shall, not later than 30 days after the date of the written request, or any later date approved by the Attorney General or the Commission, respectively, provide to the Attorney General or the Commission, respectively, a written report on each pricing algorithm identified in the request. (b) Report contents Each report under subsection (a) shall include— (1) information on whether the person is responsible for the development or distribution of the pricing algorithm, or whether a third party is responsible for the development or distribution of the pricing algorithm, including the identity and contact information of any other person responsible for the development or distribution of the pricing algorithm; (2) information on whether the pricing algorithm autonomously sets prices or commercial terms and whether there is human review of any recommendation or decision of the pricing algorithm; (3) an explanation of the rules or processes that the pricing algorithm uses to set or recommend prices or commercial terms; (4) a description of all data the pricing algorithm uses to set or recommend prices or commercial terms, including data used to train the algorithm; (5) all sources and collection processes, including the frequency of collection, of any data that the pricing algorithm uses to set or recommend prices or commercial terms; (6) whether the pricing algorithm engages in price discrimination by setting or recommending different prices or commercial terms for— (A) different customers seeking identical or nearly identical products or services, and if so, the factors used in differentiating among such customers; or (B) different employees or independent contractors providing substantially similar services, and if so, the factors used in differentiating among such employees or independent contractors; and (7) any changes made to the pricing algorithm between the date of receipt of the request under subsection (a) and the date of certification under subsection (c). (c) Certification of report The Chief Executive Officer, Chief Economist, Chief Technology Officer, or a corporate officer of similar authority of a person shall certify, under penalty of perjury, the accuracy of a report under subsection (a) submitted by the person. (d) Confidentiality All information submitted in a report under subsection (a) shall be treated as confidential and shall be considered to be privileged and confidential trade secrets and commercial or financial information exempt under subsection (b)(4) of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, from being made available to the public under subsection (a) of that section. (e) Information sharing (1) In general A report under subsection (a) may be shared— (A) between the Department of Justice and the Commission; and (B) with the National Institute of Standards and Technology for technical assistance in understanding the report. (2) Limitation The National Institute of Standards and Technology shall not disclose the contents of a report shared under paragraph (1) or the analysis of the report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to any person, except the Department of Justice or Commission, whichever sought the technical assistance. (f) Rules of construction Nothing in this section shall— (1) limit the ability of the Commission or the Attorney General to issue a civil investigative demand, to issue a subpoena, to seek discovery in the course of litigation, or otherwise obtain information through other means available to the Commission or the Attorney General; or (2) restrict the use of information submitted in a report under subsection (a) in the course of a formal investigation, enforcement action, litigation, trial, or other proceeding, in accordance with the confidentiality procedures applicable to such proceeding.