Gillibrand introduces One Fair Price Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. | U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has introduced legislation to outlaw surveillance pricing. The One Fair Price Act would prevent companies from being able to use customers' personal data to set individualized prices. Gillibrand introduced the legislation with Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ). "As the holidays approach and New Yorkers shop for their loved ones, predatory companies are combing through our data and raising prices based on who they think is willing to pay more," Sen. Gillibrand said in announcing the legislation Dec. 12 "No one should be charged more just because a company is digging into their background and exploiting their data. It's wrong, and I won't stop working until we get this bill across the finish line and end these abusive practices once and for all." "When you go to the grocery store, you expect to pay the exact same price for milk as the person in line behind you. But imagine if they charged you more for milk because they know you have growing kids at home and that you need it more than the person behind you. You'd be outraged. It may seem far-fetched, but increasingly that's exactly what's happening, especially when shopping online," said Senator Gallego. "Greedy corporations are compiling Americans' personal data and using AI to find their 'pain point' – the maximum they're willing to pay. That's not fair pricing, that's predatory pricing. My bill puts an end to it." In January, initial findings from a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) study showed that retailers frequently use customers' personal information – everything from their location to the type of device they are searching on – to set tailored prices for goods and services. Under the Trump administration, the FTC canceled an investigation into these unfair practices. The One Fair Price Act would ban companies from charging different prices to different customers for the same product at the same time. A recent study found that predatory pricing practices are harming consumers as corporations use AI to gauge how "price sensitive" each customer is. For example, a frequent Instacart user could see price swings of roughly $1,200 per year. New York became the first state to confront these practices by enacting a law targeting surveillance pricing and requiring retailers to disclose when prices are set by an algorithm. "Dystopian surveillance pricing schemes are fueling our country's affordability crisis, allowing corporations to weaponize personal data by filtering it through opaque algorithms to extract the maximum price consumers are willing to pay," said Lee Hepner, Senior Legal Counsel at American Economic Liberties Project. "Price discrimination shreds the social fabric by eroding consumer solidarity and our ability to hold predatory corporations accountable on equal terms. It is a direct threat to the financial independence of all Americans, and largely responsible for why our whole economy feels like a giant scam. The One Fair Price Act restores sanity to our economy, while protecting fair discounts and predictable prices. We're pleased to support and endorse this bill, and urge Congress to pass it swiftly."

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Gillibrand introduces One Fair Price Act

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