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New Jersey becomes second state to ban surveillance pricing
Supermarket News • • business
Key Points:
- New Jersey's Senate passed the Fair Price Protection Act with a 22-14 vote, banning surveillance pricing that uses personal data to charge different prices for the same food items, effective in one year.
- The law prohibits retailers and third-party grocery delivery platforms from using electronic surveillance, biometric data, genetic information, or protected class data to increase prices based on consumer behavior or characteristics.
- New Jersey becomes the second state after Maryland to outlaw surveillance pricing, with sponsors highlighting the protection of consumers from exploitative AI-driven pricing strategies amid financial struggles.
- The legislation also imposes a one-year moratorium on installing new electronic shelving labels in stores.
- The move follows scrutiny of Instacart, which agreed to a $60 million refund settlement over FTC allegations of unlawful pricing tactics involving AI, although the company claims its pricing tests are randomized and not responsive to real-time supply and demand.
