FTC Demands Walmart, JetBlue Explain How They Use Your Data to Set Prices

The Federal Trade Commission has issued orders to nine U.S. companies demanding details on how they collect and use consumers' personal information to determine prices, according to UPI. Walmart and JetBlue are among the companies named in the inquiry.

The move signals growing scrutiny of so called surveillance pricing, a practice in which businesses use data about individual shoppers, such as browsing habits, location or purchase history, to charge different prices to different customers for the same product or service.

UPI reports the FTC wants to understand the scope of this practice across major retail and travel sectors as regulators weigh whether such pricing strategies harm consumers or raise fairness concerns.