FTC Proposes Enforcement Policy On Personalized Pricing And Consumer Data

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking public comment on a proposed enforcement policy statement addressing “personalized pricing,” or the use of consumer data to set individualized prices. The proposal signals increased scrutiny of these practices and warns that businesses may face enforcement where personalized pricing is deceptive or unfair, including where companies fail to adequately disclose how personal data is used to determine prices.

On August 19, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it is seeking public comment on a proposed enforcement policy statement regarding “personalized pricing,” which it describes as the use of personal data to set prices of goods and services based on the amount a company believes an individual consumer is willing to pay. 

The proposed policy reflects growing regulatory and legislative scrutiny of businesses’ use of consumer personal data to inform pricing. The FTC claims that advances in data collection and processing increasingly allow businesses to use personal data about consumers, such as purchase histories, browsing activities, location, and other characteristics, to establish personalized prices. The FTC acknowledges that prices may legitimately vary based on factors such as supply and demand and that individualized pricing is an accepted practice in certain industries. However, the FTC expresses concerns about personalized pricing in circumstances where consumers reasonably expect that similarly situated customers will be offered the same price.

The FTC signals aggressive enforcement under existing law

The FTC acknowledges that it does not have authority to prohibit personalized pricing in all circumstances. However, the proposed policy states that the agency “intends to enforce the law aggressively” against personalized pricing practices that the FTC considers to be deceptive or unfair under Section 5 of the FTC Act or that violate other laws that the FTC enforces.

The FTC’s proposed policy statement declares that where consumers reasonably expect prices not to vary based on their personal data, businesses using personalized pricing should “clearly and conspicuously disclose not just that the price is personalized, but also the basis for that personalization and the types of data on which the personalization is based.” According to the FTC, failing to provide these disclosures is likely to constitute an unfair or deceptive practice under Section 5.

The proposed policy identifies several practices that may create risk under Section 5. For example, the FTC warns that businesses may violate Section 5 if they:

• represent or imply that a price is widely offered when it is actually personalized;
• mislead consumers about why a price was personalized or whether personalization resulted in a discount or a higher price; or
• collect, use, or disclose personal data for personalized pricing without adequate disclosure or consent, including by relying on data obtained from third parties without sufficiently verifying that consumers consented to the collection and use of that data for personalized pricing.

The FTC provides several examples of potentially violative practices, including a grocery retailer charging a customer more based on data showing that children live in the household; a hotel raising a consumer’s price based on data suggesting that the consumer is traveling for some unavoidable event; and a retailer charging a consumer more online based on location data showing that the consumer is already inside the retailer’s store or parking lot.

What businesses should consider

The proposed policy could affect any business using consumer data, analytics, or automated systems to determine or influence the prices presented to consumers. Importantly, the FTC is focused not only on how personalized prices are presented to consumers, but also on how businesses collect and use personal data to set those prices. Businesses using or considering these practices may want to assess what personal data is used in their pricing models, including data obtained from third parties, and whether their privacy notices and consent mechanisms adequately disclose and permit the use of that data for personalized pricing.

Comments will be due 30 days after the policy statement is published in the Federal Register, which, as of the date of this writing has not yet occurred.