NYC Council Holds Hearing on Legislation to Protect New Yorkers from Dynamic and Surveillance Pricing

Bills would ban grocery price increases within 24-hour period and prohibit businesses from using consumers' personal data to set individual prices

NEW YORK, NY - Today, the New York City Council held a hearing on two consumer protection bills aimed at restricting practices driven by emerging technology and data collection known as dynamic and surveillance pricing. The legislation, sponsored by Speaker Julie Menin and Majority Leader Shaun Abreu, would establish guardrails around dynamic pricing in grocery stores and a prohibition on businesses using consumer personal data to set individual prices, making New York the first city in the nation with such protections.

As digital price tags and algorithmic pricing systems become more common, consumers and industry experts have raised concerns around dynamic pricing, the practice of frequent price changes based on demand or market conditions, and surveillance pricing, a practice of using personal data collected about consumers to tailor prices to individuals.

The Council's legislation takes a proactive approach to establishing consumer protections before these practices become widespread, while still allowing businesses flexibility to respond to legitimate market forces and operational costs. Importantly, the bills do not prohibit discounts or promotions, preserving common-sense pricing practices such as loyalty rewards, membership programs, senior and military discounts, coupons, and other benefits available through uniform eligibility criteria.

"New Yorkers deserve transparency and fairness when purchasing essential goods, and the Council will make New York the first city in the country to take a strong stand against predatory surveillance and exploitative dynamic pricing practices," said Speaker Julie Menin. "As a regulatory attorney and the former Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs, I take consumer protection extremely seriously. These bills establish clear, commonsense guardrails to ensure companies cannot use personal data to manipulate prices or undermine public trust. At a time of rising costs and deep affordability challenges, we need to pursue every solution to protect consumers and keep prices fair. These protections will be backed by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection's robust enforcement authority, ensuring New Yorkers have a local watchdog dedicated to holding bad actors accountable and protecting consumers in an increasingly digital marketplace."

"My office led a broad coalition of unions, advocates, community leaders, and families in the fight to pass legislation in Albany to ban surveillance pricing and keep costs down," said New York Attorney General Letitia James. "New Yorkers facing a rising cost of living should not have to deal with companies using their personal data to charge them the highest possible price, and I applaud Speaker Menin and the New York City Council for taking action to protect New York City from surveillance pricing."

The first bill, sponsored by Speaker Menin, would prohibit businesses from engaging in surveillance pricing by banning the use of personal data - collected through technology like device tracking, internet browsing history, biometric monitoring, or purchase history - to set individual fee, prices, and discounts for consumers. The legislation excludes loyalty and rewards programs, publicly disclosed discounts, and pricing differences tied to the cost of providing goods or services. The second bill, sponsored by Majority Leader Abreu, would prohibit grocery stores from increasing the price of an item more than once within a 24-hour period. This would allow businesses to make daily adjustments based on market forces, without making more frequent price adjustments that artificially inflate the cost of essential goods.

###