Washington Post's Surveillance Pricing Under Fire From Dems Who Want to Ban the Practice

Some subscribers to the Washington Post have been receiving emails that their subscription rates will be going up, according to the Washingtonian. That part isn’t surprising, given the fact that Post owner Jeff Bezos has reportedly been upset that the newspaper is losing money, especially since ditching about half of his workforce. But some folks who scrolled down to the bottom of the email were surprised when they read about how the new price was determined: “This price was set by an algorithm using your personal data.” It’s a concept called surveillance pricing, and it’s not entirely new. People can often be charged different prices for the same product, depending on any number of factors. If your phone battery is low, rideshare companies like Uber or Lyft might charge more because they know you’re desperate. Instacart was recently caught charging up to 23% more to some shoppers based on unknown criteria. Many Democrats aren’t happy about it, including Rep. Greg Casar of Texas. On Monday, Casar wrote on Bluesky that surveillance pricing “should be illegal,” adding, “I have a bill to ban it.” Last year, Casar and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan introduced legislation called the Stop AI