By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 30/04/2026But in practice, that's not at *all* how surveillance pricing works. Instead, surveillance pricing is most often used to levy a "desperation premium" on people who have fewer choices and less leverage. 12/ 1372
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 30/04/2026For example, there's a McDonald's investments portfolio company called Plexure that supplies surveillance pricing tools to fast food restaurants. 13/ 1160
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 30/04/2026Plexure advertises its ability to use surveillance to learn when a customer has just gotten paid so that vendors can increase the price of their usual breakfast sandwich order. This isn't aimed at wealthy people - it's explicitly designed to target people who are living paycheck to paycheck. 14/ 1336
