Assemblymember Ward Reintroduces Legislation to Ban Surveillance Pricing

• Anthony Reyes
• (916) 319-2078
• [email protected]

SACRAMENTO, CA - Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego) introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 2564 to continue efforts to prevent businesses from using consumers' personal data to adjust prices based on individualized profiles, a practice known as surveillance pricing. Building on last year's AB 446, the bill strengthens protections to ensure consumers are not subjected to unfair or predatory pricing practices.

While California consumers have some of the strongest privacy protections in the country under the California Consumer Privacy Protection Act, no federal or state law prohibits companies from using data they collect to change their own internal pricing.

"At a time when prices for basic necessities are rising across the board, it is more critical than ever to ensure that people are not being unfairly charged higher prices due to their actual or perceived characteristics" said Assemblymember Ward. "The right to fair pricing should not be a privilege for the few but a fundamental protection for all. One product, one price."

"We know that businesses are starting to use consumers' personal data to show them a different price than their friends or neighbors" said Grace Gedye Senior Policy Analyst at Consumer Reports. "Big box retailers and hotel booking sites, for example, are showing different consumers different prices for the exact same item or experience based on where a consumer is currently located.

"Companies should not be charging people different prices for the same product based on their ability to surveil them. People's private data should not be used against them." said Jamie Court, President of Consumer Watchdog.

"Surveillance isn't just creepy-it's expensive" said Samantha Gordon, Chief Advocacy Officer at TechEquity Action. "If you walked into a store and were told you'd pay more than the person next to you because of your zip code, your purchasing history, or where you'd been that day, you'd be horrified. In an economy where costs keep climbing, we cannot allow technology to become a weapon against the economic wellbeing of everyday Californians."

Without legal protections and stronger regulations, companies will continue to use these opaque practices to maximize profits at the expense of ordinary people, making essential goods and services even more inaccessible. The right to fair pricing should not be a privilege for the few but a fundamental protection for all.