China's Regulatory Framework for Dynamic and Personalized Pricing in the Digital Economy

Abstract

Under the Chinese legal system, in principle, there is no objection to dynamic and personalized pricing of enterprises. Dynamic pricing does not involve the processing of personal information, and consumers have a higher perception of price fairness, it is seldom concerned by laws and policies. Personalized pricing involves the processing of personal information, and consumers generally feel that the price is unfair and difficult to accept, so it is the focus of legal regulation. Enterprises face three obstacles in implementing personalized pricing. First, in terms of personal information protection, enterprises should abide by the provisions on personal consent and automatic decision-making in the Personal Information Protection Law. Second, in the aspect of anti-monopoly, enterprises should abide by the provisions of the Anti-Monopoly Law, and cannot achieve collusion through algorithms and abuse market dominance to implement differential treatment for trading counterparts. Third, in the protection of consumers' rights and interests, enterprises should respect the Price Law and other laws, and cannot commit price fraud and price discrimination. The current law on dynamic and personalized pricing is not perfect. In the future, we can protect consumers' rights and interests mainly by strengthening enterprises' obligation of providing information.