FTC orders 8 companies to provide information on ‘surveillance pricing’ practices

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission has ordered information from eight companies that the agency says offer products and services that use personal data to set prices based on a shopper’s individual characteristics.

In a Tuesday announcement, the FTC said it was seeking to better understand the “opaque market” of “surveillance pricing” practices using consumer data — including credit information, location and browsing history — to charge different customers different prices for the same goods.

To do this, the agency noted, third-party intermediaries claim to use advanced algorithms, artificial intelligence and other technology.

“Firms that harvest Americans’ personal data can put people’s privacy at risk. Now firms could be exploiting this vast trove of personal information to charge people higher prices,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in a prepared statement.

Khan added that the FTC’s inquiry “will shed light on this shadowy ecosystem of pricing middlemen.”

The FTC said it sent orders to Mastercard, Revionics, Bloomreach, JPMorgan Chase, Task Software, PROS, Accenture and McKinsey & Co.

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