FTC seeking information from Walmart, JetBlue, others on pricing

Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The Federal Trade Commission has ordered nine U.S. companies, including Walmart and Uber, to turn over information on how they use consumers' personal data to set prices and gig worker pay.

The companies, which also include Delta Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue Airlines, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and Target, were named by the agency on Wednesday, following probes of "surveillance pricing" and lawsuits alleging consumers have been charged different prices based on purchase histories.

The FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said it 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."

For rideshare and delivery services, the FTC said it will examine how those companies determine worker pay. Offers that drivers received may depend on opaque formulas, possibly involving data such as phone usage or a driver's history of accepting offers previously.

Legislation has been introduced in several states to bar surveillance pricing and electronic shelf labels that could be used to set various prices for shoppers based on their habits and online information.

The FTC's announcement follows a lawsuit it and 20 states filed against Dollar General on Monday, alleging the discount retailer charges consumers more than advertised. The Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based company has repeatedly mislabeled prices and overcharged customers despite corporate being aware of the issues, the lawsuit claims.