New York Seeks Transparency in Personal Algorithmic Pricing Practices
Certain businesses implement dynamic pricing based on individual preferences or previously collected consumer data. This practice may soon be prohibited in New York if those websites fail to state, “THIS PRICE WAS SET BY AN ALGORITHM USING YOUR PERSONAL DATA.” While currently the subject of litigation, New York’s Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act seeks to require any entity doing business in New York to provide a clear warning whenever a price is set by an algorithm that uses a consumer’s personal data. The law suggests that it is inadequate for this warning to be included solely in a privacy policy. Instead, it appears that the disclosure must be displayed in the same medium alongside the price. Further, the Act’s definition of personal data is broad, encompassing not only sensitive information but also non-sensitive details that a consumer might provide voluntarily, like zip code and rewards program history . Hence, even if a pricing algorithm uses only non-sensitive per...