This Congressman Wants To Ban Companies From Using Your Search History To Set Personalized Prices

WASHINGTON — From raising nan value of diapers for caller parents who precocious searched for them online to stores excluding regular customers from discounts because they are apt to bargain nan merchandise anyway, companies are utilizing individual information to group different value points for different people.

The practice, known arsenic “surveillance pricing," has caught nan attraction of Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, who wants to prohibition it astatine nan national level.

Personal information postulation has go commonplace successful nan net age, pinch awesome corporations farming accusation to tailor trading and income pitches specifically to individual consumers. But companies are now utilizing location data, browsing history and demographic inheritance to individualize prices.

Casar believes this practice, which is often done utilizing artificial intelligence, could stack nan platform against consumers, starring to higher, uneven prices. The lawmaker, who leads nan Congressional Progressive Caucus, told NBC News he wants to guarantee that prices are group “based connected proviso and request and based connected really overmuch it costs to make and waste a thing, not based connected spying connected you and utilizing your backstage data.”

The Stop AI Price Gouging and Wage Fixing Act of 2025, which Casar will present Wednesday, would prohibit nan usage of surveillance-based value and costs mounting astatine nan national level. The measure comes connected nan heels of a study by nan Federal Trade Commission and arsenic immoderate states activity to prohibition surveillance pricing arsenic well.

Casar said location needs to beryllium much transparency astir nan usage of consumers’ information and artificial intelligence. His measure would besides forestall nan usage of AI to group wages based connected individual data, for illustration an individual's financial history, alternatively than performance.

“AI is simply a processing portion of our lives, portion of our world, but we request to make judge that it’s utilized for bully and not being exploited,” he said. “We’re already starting to spot that, and if we don’t intervene now and prohibition these sorts of value gouging and costs suppression correct now, past I deliberation it’s conscionable going to dispersed each complete nan economy.”

Casar’s authorities comes aft nan FTC released nan initial findings of its study of surveillance pricing successful January. That report, released conscionable earlier then-President Joe Biden near office, recovered that a “person’s precise location aliases browser history tin beryllium often utilized to target individual consumers pinch different prices for nan aforesaid equipment and services.”

The FTC's findings are based connected accusation it requested from 8 companies that usage user information erstwhile pricing products: Mastercard, Revionics, Bloomreach, JPMorgan Chase, Task Software, PROS, Accenture and McKinsey & Co.

Lina Khan, who chaired nan FTC nether Biden, oversaw nan study. It is unclear what nan early of nan FTC's domiciled will beryllium connected this rumor nether nan Trump administration, arsenic nan agency's telephone for nationalist input connected surveillance pricing was stopped erstwhile caller activity came in.

“One of nan astir pernicious aspects of surveillance pricing is that group whitethorn person perfectly nary thought that they’re being targeted by it,” Kahn said successful an question and reply pinch NBC News. “It’s a full achromatic box.”

Kahn said nan exertion is quickly evolving making it easier for companies to forecast really overmuch a user is capable aliases consenting to salary without them knowing. Kahn described surveillance pricing arsenic nan “holy grail” for companies looking to maximize profits successful e-commerce.

“We person quickly slipped into an situation wherever companies now progressively person nan expertise to do this based connected conscionable nan tremendous troves of individual information that are being collected astir us, they person nan inducement to do it," Khan said, adding that “unless rule enforcers and lawmakers are very clear astir these practices being prohibited, companies will deliberation it’s wholly adjacent game.”

Casar noted that Delta Air Lines is 1 institution that is integrating AI into its pricing. On an investor telephone this month, Delta president Glen Hauenstein said nan airline's extremity is to person a 5th of each its fares group by an artificial intelligence program, up from 3% currently. But nan institution disputed successful a connection that prices would beryllium group based connected individual information.

“There is nary fare merchandise Delta has ever used, is testing, aliases plans to usage that targets customers pinch individualized offers based connected individual accusation aliases otherwise,” nan institution said. “Delta ever complies pinch regulations astir pricing and disclosures.”

While Casar’s authorities is nan first astatine nan nationalist level, respective authorities legislatures person attempted to return connected nan issue. For example, nan New York State legislature passed and nan politician signed legislation to require companies to disclose to consumers erstwhile a value is group by an algorithm utilizing their data.

The National Retail Federation, earlier this month, asked a national court to artifact nan New York law, arguing that it would “unfairly malign a strategy that helps merchants springiness customers little prices and personalized offers.”

The California Assembly, meanwhile, passed a bill successful May to extremity businesses from utilizing individual information erstwhile charging different prices for nan aforesaid product. That authorities adjacent heads to nan California Senate.

At nan national level, nan House of Representatives is leaving for its August recess this week, truthful nary action tin beryllium taken connected Casar’s measure until September astatine nan earliest. The congressman said he hopes to “build a wide conjugation of members of Congress against this, because I deliberation this is nan benignant of rumor that energizes group each crossed nan country.”

Casar sees a surveillance value prohibition arsenic an rumor that could pull bipartisan support. “I deliberation that’s nan benignant of point that pisses disconnected Democratic and Republican and independent voters alike,” he said. “You don’t person to beryllium a progressive Democrat to opportunity these gigantic corporations successful nan tech world should not beryllium spying connected america and past utilizing what they study to put it into AI and make our life much expensive.”