California Bill Advances to Ban Surveillance Pricing Using Personal Data

A bill to ban the use of personal data to set different prices for consumers has cleared a key legislative hurdle in California, part of a wave of state-level action targeting the practice known as surveillance pricing. The measure, Assembly Bill 2564, would prohibit retailers from altering prices based on information about shoppers, such as their age, gender, or location.

The legislation advanced on Thursday after a vote by the legislature's appropriations committees, which eliminated roughly a quarter of all bills under consideration this year. The bill must still pass the full Assembly and Senate before potentially reaching Governor Gavin Newsom's desk this fall. The bill's author, Assemblymember Chris Ward, said the practice of charging higher prices based on personal data hits low-income individuals and those with limited shopping options the hardest.

The push in California follows similar recent actions elsewhere. In the past month, Maryland, Colorado, and Connecticut have passed their own bans on surveillance pricing. Maryland's law specifically prohibits the practice for groceries. Roughly half of all U.S. states are reportedly considering bills to regulate differential...