A recently enacted New York State law requires businesses that algorithmically set prices using customers' personal data to disclose that. According to the law, personal data includes any data that can be "linked or reasonably linked, directly or indirectly, with a specific consumer or device." The law doesn't require businesses to explicitly state what information about a person or device is being used or how each piece of information affects the final price a customer sees.
GOOD MORNING, SUNDAY! It's the perfect time to catch up on some of the great reporting and stories the Mercury churned out this week! (PRO TIP: If you despise being "the last to know," then be one of the first to know by signing up for Mercury newsletters! All the latest stories shipped directly to your email's in-box... and then... YOUR HEAD.) * Proposed Detention Center Fee Yields Hostile City Council Meeting Wednesday's City Council meeting saw multiple disruptions and expulsions as councilors passed an algorithmic rental price-fixing ban and considered a proposal meant to deter landlords from opening detention centers. Prior to the meeting, three different groups held demonstrations outside City Hall.
"It's all about the privacy of the data. And it's a very common practice that the businesses use your personal data. In many cases, without your knowledge, to be able to set prices or target you for advertising material," Ersin Uzun, executive director of Rochester Institute of Technology's Global Cybersecurity Institute, said.
The state's Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act took effect on Monday. Under the law, businesses have to tell customers when they are using their personal data, such as where they are and what they've purchased in the past, to determine prices. For some New York residents, the first sign of the new law was a message that popped up on their phone screen while ordering food delivery.
The pace of AI development is surging, and the effects on the economy, education, medicine, research, jobs, law, and lifestyle will be far-reaching and pervasive. Moves to begin regulation are surfacing on the federal and state level. President Trump in July unveiled executive orders and an A.I. action plan intended to speed the development of artificial intelligence and cement the U.S. as the global leader in the technology.
The introduction of algorithmic price discrimination has resulted in significantly higher fares for riders while also reducing the overall compensation for drivers on billions of trips.
"The postponement action is intended to give the Council time to facilitate a resolution of the RealPage litigation and to determine a path forward for the ordinance without the time pressure imposed by litigation deadlines."
Councilor Angelita Morillo noted that new litigation related to algorithmic rental price-fixing software in Berkeley requires careful consideration before Portland moves forward with its ordinance.
