Are apps charging you more based on your data? FTC launches 'surveillance pricing' inquiry

Five, your browser and device could be costing you more online. The federal government is now investigating nine major companies for surveillance pricing, where prices actually go up the more you search. Fox 11's Christy Fajardo with details. From airlines to rideshares, even groceries, experts say powerful algorithms are tracking your every move. Your location, even how many times you search an item, can result in paying more. Now, the Federal Trade Commission is demanding information into how several companies use consumer and workers' information to set prices and compensation. It's a practice known as surveillance pricing, and a FOX 11 investigation last year found consumers already knew it was happening. I think the fact that we have all this information on us, on how we shop and what we do is very disconcerting. It's everywhere, I think. I don't think there's any way to stop it. The FTC is now asking Delta, United Airlines, JetBlue, Walmart, Target, DoorDash, Instacart, Uber, and Lyft for data to assess whether their prices vary from person to person. Our 2025 investigation found several instances where it did. Take a look. One Lyft ride ordered from the same location and at the same time was $5 more on one phone. We also found the same hotel rooms listed at different rates on different devices. But the feds are also looking at whether gig workers pay is varying depending on their data. The FTC chairman, Andrew Ferguson, saying in a statement in part, consumers deserve to know whether companies use their web surfing habits or other personal data to estimate the highest price they can charge each consumer. Workers also deserve to know if their compensation is affected by how companies use their personal data. Surveillance pricing is coming after all of us, making us pay higher prices for the same goods. Assembly member Chris Ward introduced a bill that would have banned surveillance pricing in California. It never made it out of the legislature, but he says he plans to reintroduce it next session. He says when you go to the store, the prices listed apply to everyone. And he says online shopping should be no different. In ads, it's estimated the practice could be costing California consumers a billion dollars or more. Where I think this is like across the line for. Protecting California consumers is that they're using your own information to differentially price things differently. They're making assumptions about you, they're discriminating against you and they're forcing you to pay higher prices compared to somebody else for the exact same thing. That's the distinction and that's the discrimination. Christy Fajardo, Fox 11 News.