Surveillance pricing is a form of dynamic pricing where a consumer's personal data and behavior is used to determine their willingness to pay.[1] This form of price discrimination assesses price sensitivity for a products or services based on an individual’s characteristics and behaviors including location, demographics, browsing patterns, shopping history, and inferred data emotional or financial states.[2][3]
The practice has been termed "personalized pricing", which has been taken to reflect an economic view that it adds value for consumers.[4] However it is also described as personalized price gouging[5] and has raised concerns over algorithmic discrimination, consumer privacy, digital redlining, and undermining price discovery.[6][7] Proponents suggest the practice could be implemented in a manner akin to a progressive tax enabling price equity.[8] The phrase was coined by American academic Zephyr Teachout.[9][10]
United States
In the United States, several states including California, New York, California, Georgia, Ohio, and Illinois have drafted bills to regulate the practice.[11][10]
United Kingdom
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 allows the Competition and Markets Authority to fine companies up to 10% of global revenue for hidden or biased digital pricing.[11]
References
- ^ "Issue Spotlight: The Rise of Surveillance Pricing" (PDF). FTC.
- ^ "FTC Surveillance Pricing Study Indicates Wide Range of Personal Data Used to Set Individualized Consumer Prices". Federal Trade Commission. 17 January 2025. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
- ^ What is surveillance pricing (Video). 2 News Nevada. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
- ^ Dayen, David (July 9, 2024). "The Emerging Danger of Surveillance Pricing". Jacobin. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
- ^ "Surveillance Pricing Is Personalized Price Gouging". Roosevelt Institute. 30 July 2025. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
- ^ Nguyen, Stephanie T. (September 21, 2025). "The Next Frontier of Surveillance: Investigating Pricing Systems". Yale Journal on Regulation. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
- ^ Stanley, Jay (12 September 2025). ""Surveillance Pricing" Hurts Consumers, Incentivizes More Corporate Spying on Them". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
- ^ Krishna, Aradhna (14 October 2025). "In Defense of "Surveillance Pricing": Why Personalized Prices Could Be an Unexpected Force For Equity". The Conversation. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
- ^ Dayen, David (2024-06-04). "One Person One Price". The American Prospect. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
- ^ a b Kelley, Lora (Nov 24, 2025). "Why 'Surveillance Pricing' Strikes a Nerve". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 Dec 2025. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
- ^ a b Oxford, Dwayne (15 Oct 2025). "'Surveillance pricing': Why you might be paying more than your neighbour". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
External links
Chang, Jonathan; Chakrabarti, Meghna (August 14, 2024). "Will "surveillance pricing" help or harm consumers?". On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti. WBUR Radio. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
 | This business-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
