Data Mining & Manipulation
2022
2022-01-01 AI-driven dynamic pricing expanded across airlines, groceries, travel, and retail, using algorithms to maximize what consumers would pay. The Iran war, Trump’s tariffs, and emerging “K” economy of 2026 may have exacerbated it.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/17/iran-war-oil-price-surge-worsen-k-shaped-economy-say-economists.html
https://www.fastcompany.com/91451686/dynamic-pricing-becoming-the-rule-not-the-exception
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/03/business/dynamic-surge-pricing-nightcap.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/opinion/dynamic-pricing-algorithms.html
https://www.fastcompany.com/91451686/dynamic-pricing-becoming-the-rule-not-the-exception
https://www.morningbrew.com/stories/2023/05/31/the-price-is-wrong
https://www.branchspace.com/news/airline-dynamic-pricing-ladders
2025 May
2025-05-14 The Trump administration removed a CFPB rule designed to shield Americans from data brokers and limit the sale of personal information such as credit history, financial data and social security number.
https://www.wired.com/story/cfpb-quietly-kills-rule-to-shield-americans-from-data-brokers/
https://www.congress.gov/119/meeting/house/118362/documents/HHRG-119-GO00-20250610-SD003.pdf
https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2025/05/data-broker-protection-rule-quietly-withdrawn-by-cfpb
2025 December
2025-12-10 Reports alleged Instacart and other retailers experimented with AI pricing that charged different customers different prices.
https://groundworkcollaborative.org/news/new-report-exposes-instacarts-hidden-price-games/
2026 January
2026-01-01 California introduced the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) which allows residents to completely delete personal information from data mining sites.
2026 April
2026-04-29 Maryland became the first state to ban AI-driven grocery dynamic pricing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITROfCXUIWM&list=WL&index=3
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/29/maryland-grocery-stores-ban-surveillance-pricing