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 …
It’s no secret that Californians pay more than the rest of the country for many goods and services — gas, housing, food, you name it. Rather than setting prices based on supply and demand, surveillance pricing looks at indicators of your ability and willingness to pay, such as your credit card and bank balances, or “whether it’s late at night …
