Key facts
- FTC is demanding data from Walmart, Uber, Delta, Target, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, United, and JetBlue.
- The data sought relates to the use of personal consumer information for personalized pricing, wages, and job offers.
- The FTC aims to publish a study on personalized pricing practices to inform regulators and lawmakers.
- FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson indicated personalized pricing could violate consumer protection laws.
The US Federal Trade Commission is demanding information from nine companies, including Walmart, Uber, and Delta Air Lines, on their use of personal consumer data to set individual prices, wages, and job offers. The agency is seeking to understand how data such as location, browsing history, and income are used in these practices. The FTC plans to use the gathered information to publish a study aimed at informing regulators and lawmakers about personalized pricing and wage-setting strategies, especially as algorithmic pricing technology, including AI, advances. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson has indicated that such practices could violate consumer protection laws if consumers do not expect them.