The FTC Just Made a Move on Surveillance Pricing #SurveilancePricing #ftc #consumerrights

Our Take

Credit to creator Mading Thok for breaking down a story that's easy to miss: the FTC isn't banning surveillance pricing, it's just signaling that it'll dust off an old unfair-and-deceptive-practices statute to go after companies that quietly price-discriminate based on your data trail. As the video notes, even the FTC's own chairman admits they lack authority to outlaw the practice outright. That's the pattern we keep seeing across the surveillance economy — agencies and lawmakers nibbling at the edges of a problem that's already baked into the business model.

Surveillance pricing and ALPR dragnets are cousins. Both rely on quietly collected behavioral data — where you shop, where you drive, how often — to sort you into a profile you never agreed to and never see. Flock Safety's cameras log your plate, your travel patterns, your routine, and that data gets shared across agencies with little public oversight, just like your browsing and purchase history gets sold to set your price. The common thread is normalization: companies and governments build these systems quietly, then wait to see if anyone notices before regulation catches up.

The FTC's move is still just a proposal open for public comment, which means there's a window to speak up. Same goes for ALPR expansion in your town — most deployments happen without a public vote. Check our map to see what's already watching your neighborhood, and head to take-action if you want to push back before it's normalized where you live too.