Zillow and Redfin settle FTC antitrust case

Zillow 与 Redfin 就 FTC 反垄断诉讼达成和解

Zillow and Redfin have reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and five states, ending a legal fight over a 2025 partnership that the FTC claimed hurt competition in the rental-listing market. The settlement was announced on Monday, just as the case was scheduled to head toward trial this morning.

Zillow 和 Redfin 已与美国联邦贸易委员会 (FTC) 及五个州达成和解，结束了一场关于 2025 年合作协议的法律纠纷。FTC 此前指控该协议损害了租赁房源市场的竞争。和解协议于周一宣布，此时距离该案原定于今早开庭审理仅剩数小时。

The case stems from a deal announced last year in which Redfin agreed to display Zillow’s rental listings on its websites rather than compete directly with Zillow for rental advertisers. The arrangement could have kept Redfin out of the rental advertising business for as long as nine years. Redfin owns Rent.com and ApartmentGuide.com, two major rental-listing platforms.

该案源于去年宣布的一项交易，根据协议，Redfin 同意在其网站上展示 Zillow 的租赁房源，而不是在租赁广告业务上与 Zillow 直接竞争。该安排可能导致 Redfin 在长达九年的时间里无法进入租赁广告市场。Redfin 拥有 Rent.com 和 ApartmentGuide.com 这两个主要的租赁房源平台。

According to the FTC and attorneys general from Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, and Washington, Zillow agreed to pay Redfin $100 million to keep Redfin from competing with Zillow. The companies defended the partnership as a way to give renters access to a larger pool of listings.

据 FTC 以及亚利桑那州、康涅狄格州、纽约州、弗吉尼亚州和华盛顿州的司法部长称，Zillow 同意向 Redfin 支付 1 亿美元，以换取 Redfin 不与 Zillow 竞争。这两家公司则为该合作辩护，称此举旨在让租房者能够获得更丰富的房源信息。

The FTC, however, argued that Zillow was paying one of its largest competitors to stop competing, potentially allowing the company to charge higher prices and provide less favorable terms to property managers. It could have also reduced the quality of rental listings available to consumers.

然而，FTC 指出，Zillow 是在向其最大的竞争对手之一支付费用以阻止其参与竞争，这可能导致该公司收取更高的费用，并向物业经理提供更苛刻的条款。此外，这还可能降低消费者所能获取的租赁房源质量。

Under the proposed settlement, Redfin will be required to reenter the rental advertising business. The order also removes restrictions that previously limited Redfin’s ability to compete independently for property-management customers.

根据拟议的和解协议，Redfin 将被要求重新进入租赁广告业务领域。该命令还取消了此前限制 Redfin 独立争取物业管理客户能力的条款。

The settlement doesn’t completely end the relationship between the two companies. Redfin can continue displaying Zillow’s rental listings, but it will once again be able to compete for its own customers. Redfin will be able to sell advertising, display listings from its own clients, and pursue new rental customers without being required to share sensitive business information with Zillow.

此次和解并未完全终止两家公司之间的合作关系。Redfin 可以继续展示 Zillow 的租赁房源，但它将能够再次争取自己的客户。Redfin 将有权销售广告、展示其自有客户的房源，并开发新的租赁客户，且无需再与 Zillow 分享敏感的商业信息。

The Zillow-Redfin case comes just months after the DOJ’s settlement with Ticketmaster, another antitrust case involving allegations that a dominant company used its power to suppress competition. However, 26 of the 30 state attorneys general who initially sued Live Nation alongside the DOJ chose to continue pursuing the case and won their lawsuit in April.

Zillow 与 Redfin 的案件发生在美国司法部与 Ticketmaster 达成和解的几个月后，后者是另一桩涉及垄断企业利用其市场支配地位压制竞争的反垄断诉讼。不过，在最初与司法部共同起诉 Live Nation 的 30 位州司法部长中，有 26 位选择继续推进诉讼，并于 4 月赢得了官司。