Price discrimination, algorithmic decision-making, and European non-discrimination law
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arXiv
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| Natura: | Preprint |
| Pubblicazione: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866915520096239616 |
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| author | Borgesius, Frederik Zuiderveen |
| author_facet | Borgesius, Frederik Zuiderveen |
| contents | Our society can benefit immensely from algorithmic decision-making and similar types of artificial intelligence. But algorithmic decision-making can also have discriminatory effects. This paper examines that problem, using online price differentiation as an example of algorithmic decision-making. With online price differentiation, a company charges different people different prices for identical products, based on information the company has about those people. The main question in this paper is: to what extent can non-discrimination law protect people against online price differentiation? The paper shows that online price differentiation and algorithmic decision-making could lead to indirect discrimination, for instance harming people with a certain ethnicity. Indirect discrimination occurs when a practice is neutral at first glance, but ends up discriminating against people with a protected characteristic, such as ethnicity. In principle, non-discrimination law prohibits indirect discrimination. The paper also shows, however, that non-discrimination law has flaws when applied to algorithmic decision-making. For instance, algorithmic discrimination can remain hidden: people may not realise that they are being discriminated against. And many types of unfair - some might say discriminatory - algorithmic decisions are outside the scope of current non-discrimination law. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_23851 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Price discrimination, algorithmic decision-making, and European non-discrimination law Borgesius, Frederik Zuiderveen Computers and Society Our society can benefit immensely from algorithmic decision-making and similar types of artificial intelligence. But algorithmic decision-making can also have discriminatory effects. This paper examines that problem, using online price differentiation as an example of algorithmic decision-making. With online price differentiation, a company charges different people different prices for identical products, based on information the company has about those people. The main question in this paper is: to what extent can non-discrimination law protect people against online price differentiation? The paper shows that online price differentiation and algorithmic decision-making could lead to indirect discrimination, for instance harming people with a certain ethnicity. Indirect discrimination occurs when a practice is neutral at first glance, but ends up discriminating against people with a protected characteristic, such as ethnicity. In principle, non-discrimination law prohibits indirect discrimination. The paper also shows, however, that non-discrimination law has flaws when applied to algorithmic decision-making. For instance, algorithmic discrimination can remain hidden: people may not realise that they are being discriminated against. And many types of unfair - some might say discriminatory - algorithmic decisions are outside the scope of current non-discrimination law. |
| title | Price discrimination, algorithmic decision-making, and European non-discrimination law |
| topic | Computers and Society |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.23851 |