Yes to California's Bill to Ban Surveillance Pricing
6 hours ago
- #data-privacy
- #digital-ethics
- #consumer-protection
- Corporations exploit personal data like browsing history and location for 'surveillance pricing,' charging different prices based on individual data profiles.
- Surveillance pricing harms privacy, equity, and transparency, prompting EFF to support California bill S.B. 2564 to ban the practice.
- The FTC report reveals surveillance pricing uses data from vendors, service providers, or brokers to segment customers and adjust prices, affecting groups like new parents or those near competitors.
- Examples include higher prices for Asians on test prep, rides in non-white neighborhoods, older Tinder users, Apple computer users, San Francisco residents, in-store shoppers, and those far from competitors.
- EFF opposes surveillance pricing due to privacy invasion, disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups, and opacity that hinders consumer advocacy and regulation.
- Defenders claim lower prices, but studies show mixed outcomes; EFF rejects pay-for-privacy schemes, viewing privacy as a human right.
- California bill S.B. 2564 bans surveillance pricing, enforced via government actions and private lawsuits, with exemptions for cost-based differences, termination discounts, and uniformly available discounts.
- EFF supports the bill as part of a 'privacy first' approach, applying data minimization and opposing pay-for-privacy, akin to banning online behavioral advertising.