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Assembly advances bill to ban ‘surveillance pricing,’ sparking debate between retailers and consumer advocates
Summary
Lawmakers approved AB 446, which bars businesses from using individualized surveillance data to set different prices for the same product; supporters called it protection for consumers, opponents warned it could prompt costly litigation and hurt discounts.
Assembly members on Tuesday passed AB 446, the Surveillance Pricing Protection Act, which makes it unlawful for businesses to use individualized "surveillance pricing" — pricing that changes for an individual consumer based on personal data collected about them — when charging different prices for the same product or service.
The bill’s author, Assemblymember Marc Ward, told the Judiciary Committee the practice is already in use and disproportionately harms lower-income shoppers. “This gives companies the ability to change some prices in real time according to a customer's individualized data profile. I maintain this is predatory. It's discriminatory,” Ward said.
Supporters, including Consumer Watchdog and the UFCW Western…
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