FTC orders nine companies to detail how personal data shapes consumer prices and worker pay

The Federal Trade Commission has ordered nine companies to explain how they use personal data to set prices and worker pay. According to the FTC's October 28, 2026 press release, the orders were issued under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act, which allows broad studies that do not have a specific law enforcement purpose.

Who received the orders

The release names Delta, United, JetBlue, Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Target and Walmart. It describes the recipients as including airlines, ride-sharing companies and food-delivery firms. The Commission voted 2-0 to approve the orders, and recipients have 45 days from receipt to respond. The release says the Commission can seek to compel compliance in federal court if a company does not provide the information.

What the FTC is asking for

The release says the orders seek data showing whether the price of a ticket, ride, delivery or other product or service varies from person to person, for example based on loyalty program participation or analysis of personal data. They also ask for documentation of the inputs, tools and procedures used to adjust or set compensation and prices.

For ride-sharing and food-delivery companies, the release says driver pay may be based on personal data such as phone usage or the history of accepting past offers, and the orders ask the companies to document how this works.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson is quoted as saying: "We intend to scrutinize the opaque methodology that some companies in these industries may be using." The release also says consumers should know whether companies use personal data, such as web browsing habits, to estimate the highest price they can charge each consumer, and that workers deserve to know whether their compensation is affected by such data use.

How it fits earlier FTC work

The release says the FTC's 2024 personalized pricing study examined only intermediary consultancies, not the businesses that set consumer prices, and describes this inquiry as meant to correct that. It also notes that in August 2026 the FTC invited public comment on a proposed enforcement policy statement on how undisclosed use of personal information to set individualized prices could violate the FTC Act.

Skadden's summary of that proposal says it was issued on August 19, 2026, and states the FTC's intent to enforce Section 5 of the FTC Act against personalized pricing the agency deems deceptive or unfair. According to Skadden, the draft says businesses should clearly and conspicuously disclose personalized pricing when consumers would reasonably expect prices not to vary based on their personal data, and that collecting or using personal data for pricing without adequate notice may violate Section 5. Skadden describes a 30-day comment period absent any extension.

What is unresolved

The release does not state whether the orders imply wrongdoing by any recipient, and a Section 6(b) study does not itself determine that any company broke the law. The companies' responses are not yet public, and the FTC has not said what it will publish from the study or when. The August policy statement is described as a proposal, and this report has not confirmed whether it has been finalized.