The article isn't about consumer apps, though, it's about websites that all four companies in an industry use for "optimal pricing", which just launders collusion through a Python backend. I would considering giving the piece a reread.
I don't really see how doing collusion through a Python backend is separate from my point? They're doing an obviously illegal and immoral thing but wrapping it in a layer of technology which obfuscates and apparently legitimizes it. The consumer view is one aspect but the companies and regulators have the same perspective.