EPIC Joins Coalition Urging New York Governor to Sign and Strengthen Surveillance Pricing Law

EPIC, along with four other organizations, sent a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul recommending that she strengthen and sign New York’s One Fair Price Act, a bill that would ban surveillance pricing that is currently awaiting the Governor’s signature. Consumer Reports led the coalition, which also included the Center for Democracy and Technology, Groundwork Collaborative, and TechEquity Action.

The One Fair Price Act would prohibit surveillance pricing, also known as personalized pricing, in New York state. It is part of a wave of laws addressing the unpopular practice that have been passed in jurisdictions across the country, including in Maryland, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Seattle.

The letter explains ways that Governor Hochul could use the chapter amendment process to strengthen protections for New Yorkers and urges her to reject calls to weaken protections.

Specifically, the letter urges the Governor to:

• Close a loophole that could permit companies to change prices based on geolocation, such as charging New Yorkers more for the same seat at a Knicks game than residents of other states.

• Tighten or remove an exemption that allows businesses to change the price an individual sees based on what they have purchased from the business in the past.

• Avoid adding new loopholes or expanding currently exemptions, for example, by narrowly defining surveillance pricing as only using an algorithm to increase prices, as Maryland did.

For more on EPIC’s work concerning surveillance pricing, visit our surveillance pricing page.