All articles tagged with #algorithmic pricing
The Federal Trade Commission’s proposal to regulate personalized pricing has triggered a sharp debate between consumer advocates and tech industry groups. While consumer groups urge stricter rules against algorithmic price discrimination, industry representatives argue that such regulations could eliminate beneficial discounts and lack empirical support.
The Seattle City Council voted 7-2 to pass the Fair Pricing and Transparency Act, prohibiting large grocery chains and delivery apps from using personal data to set individual prices. The ordinance targets retailers with 20 or more global locations, aiming to prevent price gouging and discrimination while preserving universal discounts for groups like seniors and veterans. A Consumer Reports investigation cited in the debate found significant price variations for identical items on Instacart, with some shoppers paying up to 10% more. The measure includes a private right of action for consumers and requires annual impact reports, though it faces potential preemption by future state laws. Mayor Katie Wilson is expected to sign the bill, making Seattle the first U.S. city to ban such practices.
Seattle is set to vote Tuesday on a bill banning large grocery chains from using personal data to set individualized prices. The ordinance targets companies with over 20 locations, including Kroger and delivery apps like Instacart, aiming to prevent price discrimination based on customer purchasing power.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis vetoed a bill that would have banned companies from using data-driven, individualized pricing and wages (surveillance pricing). Polis said the measure is too broad and could penalize legitimate uses of technology, though it would have included some discounts. It’s his second veto on a surveillance-pricing bill in a year. The veto comes as other states consider or enact similar bans, Maryland has a narrower grocery-pricing law, and consumer groups urge federal action amid FTC studies on the practice.
The FTC and 17 states allege Amazon uses real-time, AI-driven pricing to not only set its own prices but steer rivals’ strategies, including an anti-discounting algorithm and a proactive “Nessie” system that raised prices across the market via feedback loops. The case argues this unilateral algorithmic manipulation undermines competition, affects third‑party sellers, and may require new rules—such as limiting how often prices can change—while the trial proceeds.
Business Insider staff ordered the same Big Mac meal via Uber Eats and found the base price stayed the same, but delivery/service fees varied enough to swing the total by about 15–20 cents; Uber says differences aren’t based on personal data, but state-law warnings and a general lack of price transparency highlight how algorithmic, personalized pricing can affect consumers and may become more widespread or spark backlash.
Pennsylvania is advancing Senate Bill 1205 to ban dynamic pricing—changing the prices of essential goods or services within 24 hours based on demand or AI-driven factors—as a consumer-protection measure, reflecting a broader national debate as other states weigh similar laws and researchers scrutinize algorithmic pricing after incidents like Instacart's tests and New York's algorithmic pricing disclosure act.
Pennsylvania lawmakers propose Senate Bill 1205 to ban 24-hour price changes on essential goods, part of a growing wave of state measures aiming to curb surveillance and dynamic pricing driven by AI; at least a dozen states are considering similar proposals, while New York has enacted a disclosure requirement for algorithmic pricing, and retailers like Walmart are expanding digital shelf labels—raising questions about price transparency and the risk of targeted pricing.