FTC is investigating how companies are using AI to base pricing on consumer behavior

Date:

Share post:


The Federal Trade Commission announced on Tuesday that it’s ordering eight companies that offer AI-powered “surveillance service pricing” to turn over information about the potential impact these products have on privacy, competition and consumer protection. 

With this investigation, the agency is seeking to learn more about how artificial intelligence and other technologies are being used to change pricing based on consumer behavior, location and other personal data. This practice allows companies to charge different customers different prices, the FTC says. 

The eight companies are Mastercard, Revionics, Bloomreach, JPMorgan Chase, Task Software, PROS, Accenture and McKinsey & Co. The FTC says all of these companies offer services that use AI to target prices for different customers. 

The agency is seeking information about the types of surveillance pricing services that each company has developed and may license to third parties, along with current uses of the services. It is also seeking information about how the services are impacting consumer pricing. 

“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,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan in a press release. “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.”

While advertisers have long used locations and past purchases to determine the types of ads that users see online, the agency is concerned that these types of practices can now be used to implement surveillance pricing.



Source link

Lisa Holden
Lisa Holden
Lisa Holden is a news writer for LinkDaddy News. She writes health, sport, tech, and more. Some of her favorite topics include the latest trends in fitness and wellness, the best ways to use technology to improve your life, and the latest developments in medical research.

Recent posts

Related articles

Bluesky is courting the Swifties

Bluesky has grown by 2 million users — about 15% — since Donald Trump won the U.S....

Ford will pay up to $165M fine for rearview camera recall failures

Ford has agreed to pay a $165 million penalty to federal regulators after moving too slowly to...

Will Rivian be Volkswagen’s software savior? VW is betting $5.8B it will

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of...

ChatGPT can now read some of your Mac’s desktop apps

OpenAI’s ChatGPT is starting to work with other apps on your computer. On Thursday, the startup announced the...

New Apple security feature reboots iPhones after 3 days, researchers confirm

Apple’s new iPhone software comes with a novel security feature that reboots the phone if it’s not...

AI pioneer Francois Chollet leaves Google

Francois Chollet, a leading figure in the AI world, is leaving Google after close to a decade....

Amazon’s telehealth platform adds low-cost plans for hair loss, skin care, and more

Amazon One Medical is expanding its telehealth services with the launch of upfront and low-cost treatment plans...

Sales tax automation startup Kintsugi doubled its valuation this year

A 2018 Supreme Court ruling eliminated the requirement that an e-commerce retailer needed a physical location in...