Same product, different prices: US FTC demands data on algorithmic pricing from Delta, Uber and seven other companies

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is demanding that some of the country's biggest airlines, ride-share companies and retailers divulge how they are using algorithms and loyalty programs to target customers and drivers with different prices and wages.

The nine companies named in the inquiry are Delta, United, JetBlue, Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Target and Walmart.

The inquiry comes after investigations and lawsuits alleging that consumers are charged different prices based on their buying histories and drivers are paid different fares based on their personal histories.

FTC chair Andrew Ferguson said in a statement that the agency will scrutinize the opaque methodology that some companies in these industries may be using to determine how much consumers pay or how much gig workers are paid for the same product or service.

US family budgets already burdened by inflation are being gouged by opaque and sometimes deceptive store pricing practices, the agency said, including surveillance pricing and overcharges by Dollar General and convenience stores.

The companies must turn over information that will allow the agency to assess whether the pricing for a ticket, ride share, food delivery or other product or service varies from one person to the next based on factors such as participation in loyalty programs or analysis of personal data by super-intelligence algorithms, the FTC said.

The FTC is tasked with policing unfair or deceptive acts or practices in industries except banking and airlines, which means it cannot impose fines or regulations on the airlines named in the inquiry.

Several states have begun introducing legislation to ban surveillance pricing and electronic shelf labels that could be used to set different prices based on shoppers’ habits and online information.

The probe follows a July 2024 inquiry by the Biden administration into surveillance pricing, which demanded information from McKinsey, JPMorgan Chase and others that offered surveillance pricing products to consumer-facing companies.

The FTC found in January 2025 that details such as a person’s precise location or browser history can frequently be used to target individual consumers with different prices for the same goods and services.

Whether the inquiry will result in substantial changes in consumer laws or company practices is unclear. Rohit Chopra, a former FTC commissioner who is now head of California’s new Business and Consumer Protection Agency, said the studies have not been used to produce meaningful reports that ultimately lead to rule-making changes.