25.08.2026, Moscow.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires companies to disclose how they use personal data to set personalized prices. This effectively amounts to an acknowledgment that digitalization facilitates overcharging the public, Rossa Primavera News Agency‘s IT Desk notes.
The Commission issued a statement on August 19. The agency acknowledged that it does not yet know how frequently businesses use personalized pricing. However, the strategy has been recognized as potentially causing “substantial injury” to customers. In other words, personal data is being used not to calculate discounts, but rather for the opposite purpose.
“The more sophisticated personalized pricing practices become, the less likely consumers are to benefit,” the statement also reads.
The FTC notes that it does not have the authority to ban this practice, but will “enforce aggressively against any practices associated with personalized pricing” if it discovers that companies are failing to comply with disclosure requirements.
It is worth noting that in January 2025, the FTC published a study containing data on price increases for certain categories of online shoppers. For example, prices were raised when it was known that customers were unfamiliar with the market, such as young parents or people purchasing a car for the first time. However, the full data was never made public because of disputes in US Congress.
Companies collect enormous amounts of data about consumers, including browsing history, location, device type, purchasing behavior, and even how long a cursor hovers over a product. The use of so-called artificial intelligence makes it possible to automate this process and rapidly transform the data into personalized prices.
In effect, companies seeking to maximize profits are exploiting customers’ psychological vulnerabilities. This is no longer dynamic pricing, but a full-fledged invisible tax.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
