The US Federal Trade Commission is considering new limits on "personalised pricing," the practice of using customers' personal data to set individualised prices based on how much they might be willing to pay. While the FTC lacks authority to ban the practice outright, it says businesses could be found in violation of the FTC Act if they fail to disclose when prices are personalised, prompting concern from critics that such rules could inadvertently raise costs or eliminate discounts consumers currently benefit from.

Under the proposal, outlined by FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, companies would need to avoid misrepresenting personalised prices as static or widely available, disclose what data is used to calculate an individual's price, and obtain consent before collecting data for pricing purposes. The FTC argues this would let consumers take defensive steps, such as browsing privately or using a VPN, or dispute inaccurate data affecting their prices, and warns that unchecked personalised pricing could deepen inequities between consumers over time. The agency acknowledged a lack of solid economic research on the practice's overall impact and opened a 30-day public comment period on the plan.