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Dear reader,

The old idiom is that every man has his price. In today's world of surveillance pricing, that's certainly true, much more than you know, and it's certainly the plan for the future.

For our June 2024 special issue, I wrote about surveillance pricing and how corporations are exploiting your personal data and consumer habits to set individualized prices and gouge consumers out of more money.

Individualized pricing isn't new; people have always haggled, at flea markets and garage sales, and before the late 1800s negotiation was an inevitable part of every retail sale. Department store owner John Wanamaker's innovation of adding a price tag to each item helped usher in a new age of standardized public pricing, but businesses still found ways to charge differential prices, and the gold mine of data from the rise of e-commerce has resulted in an explosion of what economists euphemistically call "personalized pricing".

None of these strategies are popular with the public, so corporations shroud their tactics in neutral and even consumer-friendly language. This gives policymakers a real opportunity to crack down on surveillance pricing, protect consumers and rein in corporate greed. Will they use it?

I hope you'll enjoy this deep dive into how digital surveillance creates price discrimination, and what that means for consumers. You can read the full piece here >> [link removed]

READ MORE >> [link removed]

Our June print issue, a collaboration with Groundwork Collaborative, is out now! In this issue, we explore how corporations use novel pricing strategies to grow record profits at the expense of the public, and how these tactics affect your everyday life.

Over the next two weeks, we'll be rolling out the issue one story at a time, covering everything from surveillance pricing to junk fees to medical bills and grocery pricing. You can read the issue online as it comes out here??>> [link removed]

THE PRICING ISSUE >> [link removed]

Every day, our small but mighty team works hard to bring you the news you need on a shoestring budget. We're a nonprofit newsroom, and we don't have corporate backers or billionaire donors to subsidize our work. To make special projects like this month's issue possible, we rely on the generosity of our readers, who chip in a few dollars at a time to fund our work.

By becoming a member today for just a few dollars a month, not only will you be eligible to receive our print magazine, but you'll also receive member benefits including special events, exclusive member access and video content, and more.

If you're already a member, thank you for your support!

We work hard for your trust, and our members say they're getting their money's worth. Won't you join them? [link removed]

BECOME A MEMBER >> [link removed]

Thanks for being a part of this,

David Dayen
Executive Editor
The American Prospect

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