National Fair Housing Alliance and The Leadership Conference Lead Coalition of 27 Organizations Calling for a Ban on Surveillance Pricing 

WASHINGTON—In a comment filed Friday, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights led a 27-organization coalition in urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to ban surveillance pricing outright, responding to the agency’s proposed policy on personalized pricing.

Companies are using what they know about people to charge them more for the same products, and everyday people can end up paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars more each year than someone else. The practice is growing across industries. The FTC’s own report found surveillance pricing in grocery stores, apparel retailers, convenience and hardware stores, and the Commission has acknowledged the harm of charging more to homebound people and people going to funerals. An algorithm may read a parent shopping late at night for a newborn, or someone who needs a flight to help a sick loved one, as desperate and raise the price, as noted in the comment. 

These systems can discriminate without ever naming race. The data behind personalized prices often tracks closely with protected characteristics, so a zip code or purchase history can stand in for race. A study of 100 million ridehailing samples in Chicago found significantly higher fares in neighborhoods with larger populations of people of color. 

The FTC’s proposed policy relies on disclosure requirements. The coalition argues that falls short because AI pricing often runs as a black box that even the companies using it may not fully understand, which leaves consumers with no real way to contest a price. The coalition also raises concern about loyalty programs, a primary channel for the data behind personalized pricing, and warns that consumers who sign up for discounts are almost never told that their data may later set the prices they personally pay.  

What the coalition is asking the FTC to do: 

• Ban surveillance pricing outright using its existing authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act. 
• Short of a ban, require companies to explain why a price was set, including the data used, and give consumers a way to challenge it. 
• Require disclosure when data is collected as well as when that information informs a personalized price. 
• Make clear that enrolling in a loyalty program is not consent to surveillance pricing. 
• Measure personalized “discounts” against what other consumers pay for the same product at the same time, rather than against the seller’s list price. 

“As AI makes pricing more personalized, the Commission is narrowing its own tools for policing discrimination. It should be doing the opposite, starting with using its authority to ban this practice outright,” said Dr. Michael Akinwumi, Chief AI Officer and Head of the Responsible AI Lab at NFHA. “AI is making personalized pricing harder to detect and nearly impossible to challenge. Whether it’s a grocery bill or next month’s rent, no family should pay a hidden premium because of who they are.”

“While working people are struggling to make ends meet, AI is helping some corporations personalize price gouging, using our own data, identity, and hardships against us. The FTC ought to listen to the communities that weighed in calling for a ban on surveillance pricing and follow through on its efforts to protect consumers against unchecked and predatory uses of AI,” said Alejandra Montoya-Boyer, Vice President, The Leadership Conference’s Center for Civil Rights and Technology. “People deserve certainty that they are being treated fairly at checkout, not discriminated against because an algorithm sets the highest price just for them.”

The following organizations joined the letter to the FTC: 

• National Fair Housing Alliance
• The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC
• Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network
• California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
• Common Cause
• Consumer Action
• Consumer Federation of America
• Courage California
• Dream.org
• Economic Security California
• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
• Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California
• Feminist Majority Foundation
• The Greenlining Institute
• Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
• JustLeadershipUSA
• Kapor Center Advocacy
• League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
• MPower Change
• National Association of Consumer Advocates
• Oakland Privacy
• Service Employees International Union
• TechEquity Action
• TechTonic Justice
• UnidosUS
• United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry

Read the full comment letter here. 

Press inquiries: jglover@nationalfairhousing.org  

###

About the National Fair Housing Alliance

The National Fair Housing Alliance leads a coalition that works to build inclusive, well-resourced, and resilient communities; expand equitable opportunities; and end housing discrimination. 

About The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights 

The Center for Civil Rights and Technology (Center) is a joint project of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund. The Center, launched in September 2023, serves as a one-of-its-kind hub for advocacy, education, and research at the intersection of civil rights and technology. 

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.