Just before the House delayed the House early for a break last week in August, two Democrats introduced a bill that banned the use of AI to set individual prices or wages. Rep. Greg Casar of Texas is joined by Rep. Rashida Tribe of Michigan. Stops AI price gouging and wage amendment lawAfter Delta said in a revenue call, he is expanding the text of AI tools to set individual prices for air travel based on various data inputs, including customer personal data.
“Major companies shouldn't be allowed to jack up your prices or use data that spies on you to lower wages,” Casar said in a press release. “Whether you know it or not, you may already be shattered by businesses using your personal data to charge you more with your personal data. This issue will only get worse and Congress should act before this becomes a completely blown away crisis.”
The bill prohibits the use of “automatic systems” based on a person's browsing history, location, address, race, gender, or genetics, a practice known as surveillance-based pricing, and sets different prices for different consumers. It will also be used to set individual wages for employees who are doing the same job.
“The idea that employers will use surveillance data to exploit workers in a hopeless position and provide lower wages is frightening,” Tlaib said in a statement.
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The representative pointed to a Research released by FTC On the day of the Biden administration's decline, highlighting multiple cases of suspected surveillance pricing.
“The initial staff findings show that retailers use people's personal information to set targeted, corresponding prices for goods and services, from person locations and demographics to mouse movements on web pages.” “The FTC deserves to know how Americans are used to set prices their private data pays, and whether companies charge different prices for different goods or services, so they should continue to investigate surveillance pricing practices.”
Requested comment on the bill By Arstechnicaa Delta spokesperson denied that airlines use personal data for individual pricing, but instead use AI to predict flight demand based on a combination of market data such as fuel costs, customer purchase behavior, and competitiveness.
“There are no fares that Delta has used so far. We have tested or used plans to target customers with individual offers based on personal information and more,” Delta said. “The forces of various markets have driven the dynamic pricing model that has been used in global industries for decades, and new technologies are simply streamlining this process. Delta is always compliant with pricing and disclosure regulations.”
In January, FTC requested information from eight AI pricing services providers: MasterCard, Revionics, BloomReach, JPMorgan Chase, Task Software, Pro, Accenture, and McKinsey & Co. The companies have confirmed that they provide services to at least 250 companies that “sell products and services ranging from grocery stores to apparel retailers,” the lawmaker noted.
