FTC Gig Pay Probe Targets Uber and DoorDash

On October 28, the Federal Trade Commission ordered nine large companies to hand over details about how personal data shapes prices and pay, Reuters reported. The companies named in the order were Walmart, Target, Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, Delta, United and JetBlue. The FTC gig pay probe will study whether shoppers and workers get different offers for the same ride, delivery, ticket or product because of the data a company holds about them.

That question carries weight for people who earn through apps, because an offer on a phone screen can look like a standard rate while resting on a personal history. The FTC gig pay probe asks whether a driver's phone use or record of accepting past offers changes the pay offered for the next job, according to PYMNTS. It also asks whether loyalty membership, browsing history, location or income changes the price a shopper sees for the same item.

FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson said in the release that consumers deserve to know whether companies use web surfing habits or other personal data to estimate the highest price they can charge each consumer, according to PYMNTS. Ferguson said in the same release that workers deserve to know if their compensation is affected by how companies use their personal data, according to PYMNTS. The wording puts shoppers and gig workers in the same inquiry, rather than treating pay as a separate issue from pricing.

What the FTC gig pay probe is asking for

The orders require each company to document the inputs, tools and procedures used to set or adjust prices and pay, Quiver Quantitative reported. The FTC gig pay probe covers the data fed into those systems, the algorithmic tools that turn that data into an offer, and evidence of how prices, pay or job opportunities vary across users. Companies have forty-five days from receipt to respond, Quiver Quantitative reported.

The orders were issued under a section of the FTC Act that allows the agency to conduct studies, rather than as a finding of wrongdoing, Quiver Quantitative reported. The Commission approved the orders unanimously, Quiver Quantitative reported. The agency can seek court enforcement if a company fails to comply, according to the Associated Press account carried by IndexBox. That legal footing matters, because an FTC gig pay probe order does not accuse any named company of breaking the law, while still carrying a deadline and a route to a court if the material does not arrive.

For ride and delivery platforms, the inquiry goes further than the price a customer pays. The FTC gig pay probe examines whether compensation varies based on personal data such as phone usage or a history of accepting rides or deliveries, according to the Associated Press account carried by IndexBox. A driver who accepts almost every offer, a courier who works late nights, and a newcomer still learning which jobs to skip could in theory see different numbers for similar work. The FTC gig pay probe aims to find out whether that happens in practice, and if so, which data points drive the difference.

Why drivers and couriers should watch the answers

Gig pay already sits at the centre of regular disputes about fairness, and earlier reporting on this site has tracked those fights closely. According to our earlier reporting, New York City's DoorDash settlement was a win for dashers, and a separate Seattle delivery pay law changed what drivers earned before fees entered the picture. Readers can find those stories here: NYC's DoorDash Settlement Is a Big Win for Dashers and Seattle Delivery Pay Law Doubled Driver Pay, Then Came the Fees. The FTC gig pay probe adds a different kind of evidence to that record, because it asks for the internal workings behind an offer, not just the final payout.

That distinction is useful for anyone trying to compare jobs across apps. A posted hourly average hides the spread between two workers doing similar shifts, and a single good week hides a slow one. If the study shows that acceptance history lowers later offers, for example, then saying yes to every job could carry a cost that no pay summary reveals. If it shows that phone use or location shifts an offer, then workers would have a concrete reason to ask why a job paid less on one night than on another. The FTC gig pay probe does not answer those questions yet, but it frames them in a way that company statements alone cannot settle.

Most gig workers now treat app work as a main income source rather than spare cash on the side, according to our earlier reporting on Most Gig Workers Now Call It Their Main Income. That shift raises the stakes of any hidden pay variable, because a small difference per ride or delivery compounds across a full working week. A shopper who pays a few dollars more for groceries faces an annoyance, while a courier who earns a few dollars less per delivery faces a smaller weekly total after fuel, time and wear on a vehicle. The same pricing system can therefore land very differently depending on which side of the app a person stands on.

What the companies said, and what happens next

Delta said it has no fare product it has used, is testing or plans to use that targets customers with individualized offers based on personal data, Reuters reported. JetBlue said all customers have access to the same fares and that it does not use personal information to set prices, Reuters reported. Representatives for the other companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters reported. Those denials do not close the inquiry, because the orders ask for documents and methods, not for a public position on pricing.

The FTC will use the information to eventually publish a study to help inform regulators and lawmakers about personalized pricing and wage-setting practices, Reuters reported. State lawmakers have already taken up efforts to ban personalized pricing and the use of algorithms to tailor wages individually, Reuters reported. The National Retail Federation has criticized those laws and defended retailers' use of data-driven discounts as a means of incentivizing loyalty, Reuters reported. The FTC gig pay probe findings could therefore feed into state debates that are already moving, rather than starting a conversation from scratch.

For now, the practical point for gig workers is simple: the pay offer on the screen is now a subject of a federal study, and the companies behind the largest ride and delivery apps have a deadline to explain how that offer was produced. The FTC gig pay probe will not change any driver's next payout by itself, and it does not promise a new pay rule at the end of the process. What it does promise is a record, built from company documents, of whether personal data quietly sets the price of work. Drivers, couriers and shoppers will be able to judge that record once the FTC gig pay probe study appears, and lawmakers will have something firmer than anecdotes to work from when they decide whether the current rules are enough. Sources for this story include Reuters and PYMNTS.