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FTC to Investigate Use of 'Surveillance Pricing'

By Maria Dinzeo and Chris O'Malley
August 01, 2024

The Federal Trade Commission said on July 23 that it is investigating a little-known ecosystem of middlemen, including corporate giants Accenture, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Mastercard and McKinsey & Co., to explore how it helps clients set different prices for different consumers based on browsing histories, past purchases, credit histories and other personal information.

The FTC calls the technique "surveillance pricing," which it describes as a "new frontier" made possible by advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning. The agency says it wants to learn how surveillance pricing affects privacy, competition and consumer protection.

"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 Khan said in a statement. "Americans deserve to know whether businesses are using detailed consumer data to deploy surveillance pricing, and the FTC's inquiry will shed light on this shadowy ecosystem of pricing middlemen."

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