Some Americans worry that the Federal Trade Commission's rush to limit personalized pricing could kill discounts they depend on or, counterintuitively, raise prices. The FTC cannot ban personalized pricing—where businesses use personal data to determine the highest price a customer might pay—but believes it could set limits, including penalties for businesses that fail to disclose when customers may be paying more because data suggests they won't balk. Chair Andrew Ferguson said new industries are increasingly tracking customers to set individualized prices, blindsiding consumers who expect a listed price to be the same one everyone else sees.

The FTC wants businesses using personalized pricing to disclose what data is used to set an individual's price and to get consent to collect it. Deceptive practices could include a food delivery service raising prices because data shows a customer can't leave home, or Uber charging more after determining no rival rideshare apps were installed on a customer's phone.

Dozens of Americans submitted comments within 30 days, with the majority calling the practice "atrocious" and "abhorrent," disproportionately harming low-income people. But some warned the plan was misguided. Attorney Blake Hunter Yagman said the scope was too narrow, while commenter Deymond Lashley said it was too broad, perhaps threatening discounts customers depend on.