Post #3360320

For years, we’ve worried about who collects our data. Now, The Washington Post has shown us how it can be used: to charge you as much as it thinks you’ll pay. The main plaintiff paid $42.40 for a year of the Post in 2024. In 2025, her price jumped to $127.20. Her most recent renewal was $148.40. An algorithm set these prices by analyzing her personal data. She only found out because a New York law requires companies to disclose this practice. Here are a few details that should concern you: 1. The lawsuit claims the Post created individual profiles from subscribers’ devices and used them to guess the highest price each person would accept. 2. The Post also asks you to link your Amazon account, which gives the pricing system even more of your personal data. If you ignore the AI buzzwords, this is just old-fashioned price discrimination. The difference is that now the seller knows your income and even your recent browsing history. Most people won’t realize they’re paying a personalized markup, since most states don’t require the kind of disclosure that revealed this case. If you design these systems, pay close attention to this issue. It’s reasonable to use data to make a product better. But using it to secretly decide who pays more is what courts are now being asked to call deceptive. As disclosure laws spread, it’s wise to set your own standards before regulators do it for you. https://gizmodo.com/washington-post-sued-over-alleged-surveillance-pricing-after-subscription-prices-jump-dramatically-2000770744 #Privacy #AI #RiskManagement