Rep. Linting: Traditional supply and demand should set prices for consumers, not surveillance systems
Rep. Linting: Traditional supply and demand should set prices for consumers, not surveillance systems
A bill from state Rep. Rylee Linting protecting consumers from a new form of price gouging was advanced today in the Michigan House with overwhelming, bipartisan support.
Surveillance pricing uses information such as a consumer’s browsing history, purchase history, location data, demographics, and online behavior, to predict how much an individual is willing to pay and then tailor prices accordingly.
Rather than setting prices based on traditional market conditions, surveillance pricing allows companies to use personal information to maximize profits at the expense of consumers. Linting’s House Bill 6099 is part of a plan that would prohibit this practice in Michigan.
“This protects consumers,” said Linting, of Wyandotte. “Consumers shouldn’t be charged more simply because an algorithm has decided they’re willing to pay more. If two people are buying the same refrigerator from the same retailer at the same time, they should see the same price. Companies shouldn’t be able to use our personal data to quietly charge one customer more than another for the exact same product. That’s not a free market. That’s surveillance pricing, and these bills put a stop to it.”
Recent findings from the Federal Trade Commission indicate some companies are using extensive personal data to influence the prices and promotions consumers see online. Investigators have found that some pricing systems can even incorporate information as granular as mouse movements, online searches, and items left in a shopping cart.
Concerns surrounding surveillance pricing have drawn attention from lawmakers and consumer advocates across the country, who warn the practice raises serious privacy, fairness, and consumer protection issues. Critics argue that consumers are often unaware their personal information may be influencing the prices they see and that algorithm-driven pricing systems can create hidden discrimination.
House Bills 6098-99 now move to the Senate for consideration.
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