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FTC pricing inquiry also asks who sees a job offer and how customer payments reach workers

2 min read

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The FTC ordered nine companies to explain how personal data affects prices, job offers and compensation. Its October 28 order also asks how customer payments are divided between workers and company revenue. Responses are due 45 days after service; the inquiry does not establish that any recipient broke the law.

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The Federal Trade Commission's new pricing inquiry reaches beyond what customers pay and workers earn. Its published order also asks companies how personal data determines which workers see a job offer, and how a customer's payment is divided between worker compensation and company revenue.

The FTC announced the orders October 28. It names Delta, United, JetBlue, Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Target and Walmart as recipients.

Job access as well as pay

Specification 11 asks each company to describe methods using personal information to determine which workers are offered which jobs. The order's definition includes the order or priority of offers and whether jobs are visible or hidden from a worker.

For those methods, the order requests the inputs, tools, steps, handling of missing input values and circumstances in which the company modifies or overrides the result. It asks whether an input varies by individual worker or category of workers.

Specification 14 separately asks how methods used to set customer prices affect worker compensation. It requires enough detail to determine the allocation of customer payments between worker compensation and company revenue. These are questions the companies must answer, not evidence that a particular company uses every practice described.

What people are told

The order also asks for the exact wording, location and dates of disclosures to consumers and workers about pricing, job assignment and compensation practices. Its definition of worker excludes company employees paid a fixed salary or paid hourly on a fixed schedule.

The generally applicable reporting period starts January 1, 2023, and runs through full compliance. Some requests reach further back, including a request about evaluation projects proposed, pending or completed since January 1, 2021.

The clock and the limit

The special report is due 45 days after service, so the published template does not establish one calendar deadline for every recipient.

The FTC says Section 6(b) permits studies without a specific law-enforcement purpose. The announcement and order establish an inquiry, not a finding of unlawful discrimination, overcharging or reduced pay.

The order says confidential or privileged commercial or financial information will be reported on an aggregate or anonymous basis, consistent with the cited statutes. It does not promise publication of each company's complete response.

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