WASHINGTON – A congressional committee is demanding transparency from major travel and rideshare companies about their potential use of artificial intelligence to manipulate consumer pricing.
On Thursday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer sent formal inquiries to the chief executives of five prominent companies, including rideshare giants Uber and Lyft, as well as travel booking platform Expedia. The Republican lawmaker is seeking information about whether these firms employ what’s known as ‘surveillance pricing’ – using detailed customer data to increase costs.
In his correspondence to the companies, Comer expressed alarm that advanced pricing algorithms combined with extensive personal consumer information could enable businesses to “weaponize personal data and pad their profit margins at the expense of providing transparency to consumers.”
The investigation also encompasses online marketplace Instacart and travel booking service Booking.com. None of the targeted companies provided immediate responses when contacted for comment about the congressional inquiry.
The probe reflects growing congressional concern about how major technology and travel companies leverage consumer data and artificial intelligence in their pricing strategies.
