Consumer Reports supports the Fair Online Pricing Act (SB 259), a California bill that would prohibit the use of data about a consumer’s online device, like their cell phone or laptop, or data tracking their location, to change the prices they see online.
Investigative journalists have documented numerous examples of companies showing different prices to consumers based on their IP address—including higher prices for Californians than residents of other states—and based on attributes of their devices, like whether they are searching from a Mac or PC. These tactics are part of the broader trend of companies using consumers’ personal data to set the prices they see, often based on inferences about what they, individually, are willing to pay, known as surveillance pricing.
SB 259 includes some reasonable exemptions. For example, location data can factor into a consumer’s price when it’s necessary to reflect differences in the costs associated with providing a good or service (such as higher prices for goods in remote areas where delivery may be more expensive), or when it’s necessary to reflect variations in state or locally imposed taxes and fees. A consumer’s device geolocation can also be used to inform a price based on the real-time demand for a product in the consumer’s vicinity if the product is provided immediately upon request, as is the case with some ride-hailing applications. The bill also does not apply to coupons, discounts, or sales that do not incorporate a consumer’s device or geolocation data.
For more, see the letter linked above.