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FTC orders Delta, Uber and others to hand over data on algorithmic pricing (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 3 days ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/53733116

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is demanding some of the US’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.

Nine companies – Delta, United, JetBlue, Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Target and Walmart – were named in the inquiry, which comes after investigations and lawsuits alleging consumers are charged different prices based on their buying histories and drivers paid different fares based on their personal histories.

The FTC 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”, chair Andrew Ferguson said in a statement.

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

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[–] 6 points 2 days ago

We definitely need regulation on these algos and at the very minimum transparency of the algos themselves. It's been very clear to me that these companies are taking advantage of the riders and the drivers and double dipping based on information gathered from these individuals. Career drivers need to be provided insurance and have reimbursements for car maintenance. Honestly, there needs to be an open state sponsored exchange for these services. Right now these companies are so big they can do whatever they want and crush any competition easily. We need taxes to be taken before people get paid. It's not right to just expect people are able afford to pay taxes at the end of the year.

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