AB 2564 Surveillance Pricing Protection Act

Californians deserve the right to fair pricing. Introducing AB 2564.

Companies are using the information they have about you—your location, buying habits, marital status, and demographics—to set a price based on how much they think they can get away with charging you.

They’re even known to adjust the price of goods based on their perceived willingness to pay. And recent reports have raised the possibility that retailers are installing facial recognition and other biometric technologies, as well as electric shelving labels that can change prices in an instant.

This is known as surveillance pricing. 

While the ability of businesses to adjust prices in line with market conditions is not inherently bad, these same systems also empower businesses to change prices in real time, on a customer-by-customer basis. When paired with the mass collection and use of consumer data, they can be both predatory and discriminatory. Surveillance pricing hurts all Californians; however, it disproportionately affects lower-income individuals and those with fewer shopping alternatives.

In states like California, consumers have some privacy protections under the California Consumer Privacy Act, including the right to opt out of sharing data. But no federal or state law prohibits companies from using the data they collect to adjust their 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 unfairly charged higher prices because of their actual or perceived characteristics. That’s why Assemblymember Christopher Ward authored AB 2564, the Surveillance Pricing Protection Act. AB 2564 will prohibit the practice of surveillance pricing by making it unlawful for retailers to use personal identifiable information when charging different prices for the same product, whether online or during in-store checkout.

AB 2564 is sponsored by TechEquity Action, Consumer Reports, and the California Federation of Labor Unions.

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What AB 2564 will do

Companies are using tech and our own data in ways that make our lives more expensive. AB 2564 would prohibit the practice of surveillance pricing by:

Prohibiting surveillance pricing

stopping retailers from using your personal data to charge different prices for the same product, whether online or during in-store checkout.

Increasing transparency

forcing companies to be upfront about how they set prices.

Protects discounts

ensuring that traditional discounts and coupons remain safe and accessible.

Surveillance isn’t just creepy—it’s expensive. Companies are collecting massive amounts of data about each of us and feeding it into algorithms that quietly shift prices based on who we are, charging some of us more for the exact same goods and services. This practice operates in secrecy and is a critical, under-acknowledged piece of the affordability crisis that everyday Californians are experiencing. The Surveillance Pricing Protection Act would end it, stopping companies from using our own data against us to inflate what we pay. In an economy where costs keep climbing, we cannot allow technology to become a weapon against the economic well-being of everyday Californians.

Samantha Gordon Chief Advocacy Officer at TechEquity

AB 2564 is sponsored by TechEquity Action, Consumer Reports, and the California Federation of Labor Unions.

How surveillance pricing is hurting people today

Grocery shopping

Should people with a lower income pay higher prices? A recent Consumer Reports investigation revealed that Kroger grocery stores collect extensive customer data and use it to make detailed inferences—including a customer’s income level. 

Upon further investigation, Consumer Reports not only discovered that Kroger’s “income predictor” can be inaccurate but also that a shopper deemed to have less education or with a lower income, for example, could end up getting fewer of Kroger’s best discounts.

Store apps

When you use store apps to make purchases, you’d expect to get the best deals. They’re often even advertised as ways to gain exclusive access to discounts. 

However, in 2022, the County of San Diego settled a $5 million lawsuit against Target for false advertising and unfair competition arising from surveillance pricing. Prosecutors found prices posted for various items on Target.com or in the Target app that changed when a customer entered the store perimeter, without clearly and conspicuously disclosing the change.

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