--- title: "FTC orders nine companies to detail how personal data shapes consumer prices and worker pay" description: "The Federal Trade Commission has issued Section 6(b) orders to nine companies, including airlines, ride-sharing and delivery firms, asking how they use personal data to set prices and worker compensation." url: "https://sonomos.ai/newsroom/ftc-orders-nine-companies-personalized-pricing-worker-pay-data/" type: NewsArticle publisher: "Sonomos Newsroom" published: "2026-10-30T13:22:00.000Z" updated: "2026-10-30T13:22:00.000Z" section: "Regulation" format: news tags: ["FTC", "personalized pricing", "Section 6(b)", "personal data"] word_count: 524 corrections: 0 json: "https://sonomos.ai/newsroom/ftc-orders-nine-companies-personalized-pricing-worker-pay-data/index.json" sources: - title: "FTC Launches Personalized Pricing and Compensation Inquiry" publisher: "Federal Trade Commission" url: "https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/10/ftc-launches-personalized-pricing-compensation-inquiry" - title: "FTC Proposes Enforcement Policy Statement on Personalized Pricing" publisher: "Skadden" url: "https://www.skadden.com/insights/publications/2026/08/ftc-proposes-enforcement-policy-statement-on-personalized-pricing" --- # FTC orders nine companies to detail how personal data shapes consumer prices and worker pay The Federal Trade Commission has issued Section 6(b) orders to nine companies, including airlines, ride-sharing and delivery firms, asking how they use personal data to set prices and worker compensation. Published 2026-10-30 13:22 UTC · Regulation · News · 2 min read Sonomos Newsroom. URL: https://sonomos.ai/newsroom/ftc-orders-nine-companies-personalized-pricing-worker-pay-data/ 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](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/10/ftc-launches-personalized-pricing-compensation-inquiry), 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](https://www.skadden.com/insights/publications/2026/08/ftc-proposes-enforcement-policy-statement-on-personalized-pricing) 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. ## Sources 1. [FTC Launches Personalized Pricing and Compensation Inquiry](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/10/ftc-launches-personalized-pricing-compensation-inquiry), Federal Trade Commission, published 2026-10-28, accessed 2026-10-30 2. [FTC Proposes Enforcement Policy Statement on Personalized Pricing](https://www.skadden.com/insights/publications/2026/08/ftc-proposes-enforcement-policy-statement-on-personalized-pricing), Skadden, published 2026-08-28, accessed 2026-10-30 ## How this story was checked Automated source check, 2026-10-30 13:22 UTC. Each claim below was compared with the source it cites before publication. What that check does and does not cover: https://sonomos.ai/newsroom/standards/ - The FTC issued Section 6(b) orders to nine companies about how personal data may be used to set prices and worker compensation. (source 1: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/10/ftc-launches-personalized-pricing-compensation-inquiry) - Recipients have 45 days from receipt to respond, and the Commission voted 2-0 to approve the orders. (source 1: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/10/ftc-launches-personalized-pricing-compensation-inquiry) - The FTC proposed an enforcement policy statement on personalized pricing on August 19, 2026, which Skadden describes as seeking comment for 30 days absent extension. (source 2: https://www.skadden.com/insights/publications/2026/08/ftc-proposes-enforcement-policy-statement-on-personalized-pricing) Tags: FTC · personalized pricing · Section 6(b) · personal data ## About the publisher The Sonomos Newsroom is published by Sonomos, which makes Locke, desktop software that detects sensitive data on the user's device and masks it before a prompt reaches an AI service. https://sonomos.ai/locke/ General information about privacy, security and AI, not legal advice. Laws and guidance change; check the dates above and the sources cited before relying on anything here.