Overview
- The Federal Trade Commission published a draft enforcement policy and is seeking public comment after announcing the effort on August 19, 2026, with a 30-day comment window once the statement appears in the Federal Register.
- The draft defines personalized pricing as using personal data to set prices based on what a firm believes a shopper will pay and warns that failing to disclose that practice can be unfair or deceptive under Section 5 of the FTC Act.
- The policy names specific risky practices that could trigger enforcement, including representing a price as ‘static’ when it varies by individual, not making clear, conspicuous disclosures about the data used, and using personal data without required consent.
- The FTC is not banning personalization across the board but is signaling a concrete enforcement posture that could lead to targeted actions or further rulemaking depending on public comment and stakeholder input.
- The move builds on earlier agency work, including July 2024 information requests to pricing-technology firms and a January 2025 report showing intermediaries can use location, browsing and purchase histories to tailor prices, a pattern that raises particular risks for lower-income consumers.