Congressman seeks to ban ‘surveillance pricing’

Surveillance Pricing & AI - Companies are collecting data to determine marketing strategies and potentially pricing, raising concerns about fairness [1] - Surveillance pricing involves companies using personal data to adjust prices based on a consumer's perceived willingness to pay [5] - Congressman Greg Casar is advocating for a ban on surveillance pricing, deeming it unfair [5][8] Congressional Action - Casar introduced the Stop AI Pricing and Wage Gouging Act of 2025 to ban AI-driven price gouging and wage suppression [8] - The proposed legislation aims to force companies to set prices based on market conditions rather than individual data analysis [8] - Concerns exist that technology is evolving faster than Congress can legislate, making timely intervention crucial [11] Company Practices - Delta Airlines has been piloting AI to tailor pricing and aims to have 20% of its fares set by AI by the end of the year [6][7] - Delta claims its AI program complies with regulations and doesn't target pricing based on personal consumer information [7] Potential Impact - Surveillance pricing could extend to wage suppression, particularly in the gig economy, where desperate workers might be offered lower wages [9][10] - The FTC released a report indicating that location and browser history are used to target consumers with different prices [7]