SoylentNews

"c0lo" writes:

====== # Bot-generated -- edit freely. ======

Surveillance pricing set to be banned in Maryland. Could this signal the end of the predatory retail practice? [independent.co.uk]:

Products featured in this Yahoo article are selected by our shopping writers. We will earn a commission from purchases made via links in this article. Pricing and availability are subject to change. 0

Your favorite online grocer or [aol.co.uk]retail store might be secretly raising prices [aol.co.uk]on you - and one state has had enough.

Maryland lawmakers approved a bill [maryland.gov]earlier this month that will ban surveillance pricing: the practice of raising individualized prices online, [aol.co.uk]based on a shopper’s habits and personal information. The practice can cost shoppers [aol.co.uk]as much as $1,200 a year, a study [redirectingat.com]from consumer watchdog Consumer Reports found last year.

The bill is likely to become law in Maryland later this month when Governor Wes Moore signs it. His signature is all but guaranteed after Moore said in an April 14 social media post [x.com]that he “can’t wait to sign it.”

Titled, “Protection From Predatory Pricing Act,” it includes a ban on grocery stores and third-party partners from using an individual’s personal information and other data to set a price. If passed, it would be the first law of its kind in the country.

Surveillance pricing uses a shopper's personal information, past purchases, cart activity and, in some cases, protected data such as gender to raise prices as far as they can without losing the customer. That can lead to higher prices for the same product for different consumers.

Surveillance pricing has become widespread in the last few years, and can increase a company’s profits by up to 4 percent, a 2025 Federal Trade Commission study [ftc.gov]found.

The practice impacts consumers beyond the grocery store. Car dealerships can be dynamic pricing traps, too, the commission said.

“A car could potentially be segmented as a ‘first-time car buyer’ by the dealership using these tools, inferring that [the] shopper might be less savvy about the options available and be promoted particular financing rates, trade-in discounts, or maintenance products,” the commission wrote.

Translation: a company can use your personal info to shape how it pitches lending options, discounts and optional vehicle features.

Maryland isn’t the only state taking on surveillance pricing.

New York passed a law [ny.gov]in November 2025 requiring retailers to tell customers when they’re using AI or personal information to set prices. A bill submitted to New York’s state legislature in January would ban surveillance pricing altogether [ny.gov], but it has yet to make it past the early stages of the lawmaking process.

In January 2026, California Attorney General Rob Bonta launched an investigation [ca.gov]into how businesses use surveillance pricing and whether it violates the state’s consumer protection laws.

;

Original Submission