This data will inform the FTC’s newly launched inquiry into the use of personal data to set prices and compensation, according to the release.
The FTC issued the orders to Delta, United, JetBlue, Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Target and Walmart. The regulator issued the orders under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act, and it has the power to compel compliance in federal court if a company fails to provide the required information. The recipients must respond within 45 days of their receipt of the order, the release said.
Reached by PYMNTS, Delta provided an emailed statement saying: “There is no fare product Delta has ever used, is testing or plans to use that targets customers with individualized offers based on personal data. We have zero tolerance for discriminatory or predatory pricing and fully comply with applicable privacy, pricing and advertising laws.”
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Delta also shared a July 31 letter in which a Delta executive responded to what the airline said was misinformation around artificial intelligence pricing.
Reached by PYMNTS, Target shared a link to an Oct. 15 fact sheet in which the company told customers: “Target does not use your personal information to raise an item’s price. And we don’t adjust prices based on the time of day you’re shopping or during times of high demand.”
JetBlue told PYMNTS in an emailed statement: “JetBlue does not use personal information or web browsing history to set individual pricing. Fares are determined by demand and seat availability, and all customers have access to the same fares on jetblue.com and our mobile app.”
PYMNTS also requested comment from each of the other companies named by the FTC but did not immediately receive a reply. The requests were sent outside of some of the companies’ regular business hours.
In its investigation, the FTC will assess whether the pricing of products and services varies based on factors such as the customer’s participation in loyalty programs or an analysis of personal data by AI algorithms, and whether the compensation paid to ridesharing or food-delivery drivers varies based on factors such as the driver’s phone usage or acceptance history for past offers, according to the press release.
“We intend to scrutinize the opaque methodology that some companies in these industries may be using to determine how much consumers pay or how much gig workers are paid for the same product or service,” FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said in the release. “Consumers deserve to know whether companies use their web surfing habits or other personal data to estimate the highest price they can charge each consumer. Workers also deserve to know if their compensation is affected by how companies use their personal data.”
PYMNTS reported in August that the FTC published an enforcement bulletin on the topic of companies using consumers’ personal data to set prices, saying that they could be violating the law.
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