CDT Submits Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee on Surveillance Pricing
CDT submitted a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime in connection with its August 4 hearing on surveillance pricing —”Your Data, Their Profit: The Consumer Cost of Surveillance Pricing.” CDT commended the Subcommittee for investigating this practice, using a consumer’s personal digital profile to gauge the opportunity to charge them more. CDT has also referred to this as “bespoke pricing,” as the price is “tailor fitted” to the consumer — for a higher cost. Surveillance pricing is unfair, it’s a privacy violation, and it’s discriminatory. It’s Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” being turned against consumers, picking their pocket. The technology is increasingly available, and is becoming more powerful with the advance of artificial intelligence. The temptation to use it will be hard to resist. We need to rein it in before it becomes widespread in the online marketplace.
