New Jersey Legislature Passes Grocery Surveillance Pricing Ban

Last night, the New Jersey Legislature passed the Fair Price Protection Act, a law banning surveillance pricing for groceries. If Governor Mikie Sherrill signs it into law, New Jersey will be the third state to enact a law curbing surveillance pricing, joining Maryland and Connecticut. The New York legislature has also sent a surveillance pricing ban to Governor Kathy Hochul’s desk for signature.

Surveillance pricing is an unfair practice where businesses use shoppers’ personal data to set individualized prices. It hurts affordability, threatens privacy, worsens the discounts offered to shoppers, and can discriminate against people based on protected characteristics such as race.   

EPIC testified in support of the Fair Price Protection Act while also suggesting improvements to close loopholes and provide stronger protections for New Jersey residents. There is still work to do. For example, the law only allows attorney general (AG) enforcement, instead of also allowing harmed people to sue. Since AG offices have limited resources, this reduces the enforcement potential of the law. And the law’s exemptions for loyalty and discount programs should have stronger requirements that companies obtain voluntary consent and meaningful transparency for shoppers so that these programs do not allow surveillance pricing in disguise. If this bill is signed into law, EPIC urges the legislature to strengthen the bill in the next legislative session.

EPIC has supported multiple efforts to combat surveillance pricing, including working with state lawmakers in their attempts to tackle this core consumer privacy and affordability issue.