States Push New Laws Targeting AI ‘Surveillance Pricing’

More than a dozen U.S. states have proposed laws that would limit how companies use consumer search data — a move aimed at curbing “surveillance pricing,” where personal information helps determine prices for individual customers.

Lawmakers are increasingly scrutinizing the practice as companies integrate AI into their operations. 

Among the most notable laws comes from New York State, which passed the Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act last year. The bill requires companies to disclose that they are using algorithms to set personalized prices based on customers’ personal data and applies broadly to companies that do business in New York. 

There are several other bills in the New York State legislature that would prohibit the use of algorithms to set prices and certain uses of dynamic pricing, particularly in cases where a price charged for an essential good or service changes in real-time based on “any non-cost-based factor.”