As technology continues to evolve, concerns over privacy and consumer rights are taking center stage. Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow is tackling these issues head-on with a new policy targeting “surveillance pricing,” a term coined by the Federal Trade Commission.
Surveillance pricing involves utilizing detailed personal data, such as search histories and buying habits, to set individualized prices for consumers. McMorrow, who currently holds a seat in the Michigan Senate, argues that federal intervention is necessary to curb this practice, especially as artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated and widespread.
“With the advent of all of these tech tools, we need to make sure that the government’s responsibility is that tech advances serve people, not the other way around,” McMorrow said.
Her proposal aims to prevent the use of personal data in manipulating prices of essentials like rent and store products, or in determining wages. States like New York and California are already considering legislation to regulate such dynamic pricing practices.
This issue emerges as Walmart introduces dynamic pricing in its stores, though the retail giant assures that price changes will occur only outside business hours.
McMorrow critiques personalized pricing as being potentially exploitative, noting that prices could vary significantly between consumers. She elaborated, “What we’re talking about is personalized behavior. Let’s say I am somebody who likes doing research. I looked up the same flight three times and because I looked it up three times, my flight is higher than the person who just looked it up once and booked it.”
Despite the Federal Trade Commission’s 2024 identification of personalized pricing as a concern, evidence of its widespread application remains elusive. Some marketing experts compare it to traditional haggling, suggesting it might even lower prices for certain consumers in some scenarios.
McMorrow is part of a competitive race in Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary, facing opponents like former Wayne County Health Director Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-MI 11), who also prioritize affordability measures in their campaigns.
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