Arlington, VA-The American Consumer Institute (ACI) submitted a public comment to the Federal Trade Commission urging the agency to keep any personalized pricing disclosure requirements narrow and targeted to cases of deception or consumer injury. In the comment, Logan Kolas, ACI’s Director of Technology Policy, argues that personalized pricing often reaches consumers as discounts, one-time offers, and loyalty programs that save them money, and that broad transparency mandates risk becoming little more than scare labels that dissuade consumers from using beneficial products and services. ACI cites survey data showing that 74 percent of consumers approve of companies using personal data to offer personalized discounts, and warns that anxiety-inducing disclosures could push discounts out of reach for price-sensitive, lower-income consumers. The comment points to Uber’s experience under New York’s disclosure law as an example of how rigid rules can mislead, and cautions that overly broad federal disclosures could fuel calls for statewide bans. Should the FTC proceed, ACI recommends that disclosures be short, clear, flexible, free of jargon like “estimated willingness to pay,” and permitted to accurately convey discounted rates and promotions.
Read ACI’s comments here.
For media inquiries, please email [email protected]
The American Consumer Institute is a nonprofit education and research organization.