NEW YORK – The Federal Trade Commission has ordered information from eight companies that the agency says offer products and services that use personal data to set prices based on a shopper’s individual characteristics.
In a Tuesday announcement, the FTC said it was seeking to better understand the “opaque market” of “surveillance pricing” practices using consumer data — including credit information, location and browsing history — to charge different customers different prices for the same goods.
To do this, the agency noted, third-party intermediaries claim to use advanced algorithms, artificial intelligence and other technology.
“Firms that harvest Americans’ …