FTC Proposes New Standards to Curb Personalized Pricing Practices
Federal regulators are proposing new standards to prevent retailers from charging different prices to individual customers based on their personal data. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stated that personalized pricing could violate the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive…
Detroit, MI, August 19, 2026 —
Federal regulators are introducing new guidelines aimed at preventing retailers from employing personalized pricing strategies that could lead to different individuals being charged varied prices for the same goods or services based on their collected personal data. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has put forth proposed standards that suggest such practices may contravene the FTC Act.
The FTC Act broadly prohibits unfair or deceptive business practices and includes provisions designed to protect consumer privacy. The commission has indicated that personalized pricing, where prices are dynamically adjusted for individuals using their data, could fall under these prohibited activities.
Under the proposed policy, the FTC emphasizes that for any form of personalized pricing to be permissible, it must meet stringent requirements for transparency and disclosure. Specifically, any such pricing strategy would need to be presented to consumers in a manner that is clear and conspicuous. Furthermore, businesses would be required to disclose the specific types of data being used to determine the personalized price.
The move by the FTC highlights growing concerns among regulators about how consumer data is leveraged in retail environments and the potential for discriminatory or unfair outcomes. The proposed standards are currently open for public comment, allowing stakeholders to provide feedback before any final rules are established.
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