Consumer Reports calls on Senate to advance bill that introduces new protections for Californians over how retailers can use their personal data to set individualized prices
Sacramento, CA – California’s state Assembly advanced groundbreaking legislation today that would prohibit surveillance pricing. The bill now goes to the state Senate.
Surveillance pricing, also known as personalized pricing, is when companies use consumers’ personal data, such as their browsing history, real-time location, inferred family size, or income to set individualized prices or discounts for consumers. The bill also protects transparently offered discounts, including group discounts, discounts offered through loyalty and rewards programs, and discounts any consumer could potentially obtain.
“As momentum for surveillance pricing legislation builds nationwide, California is helping lead the charge with the advancement of AB 2564 in the state Assembly,” said Grace Gedye, senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports. “Retailers have collected vast amounts of data about individual shoppers — how often we search for or hover over particular items, whether we live near competitor stores, inferences about our likes and dislikes, our dietary needs, our income, our family size, and more. Surveillance pricing allows companies to squeeze the maximum amount that each of us is willing to pay. AB 2564 would ban this new and tricky pricing tactic and ensure fairer prices for California consumers. We thank Assemblymember Christopher Ward for his leadership on this legislation.”
Maryland recently signed into law a bill aimed at banning surveillance pricing but CR found that the measure fell short. Connecticut and Colorado also passed bills out of their state legislatures that would limit personalized pricing. Other states are considering surveillance pricing bans including Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and others.
Contact: cyrus.rassool@consumer.org