EPIC Testifies in Support of Bill to Protect New Jersey Consumers From Surveillance Pricing

EPIC Counsel Suzanne Bernstein testified Thursday before the New Jersey Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee in support of a AB 4085, a bill that would protect New Jersey consumers from surveillance pricing.

The New Jersey Fair Price Protection Act would address the harms caused by companies using personal data to set individualized prices for consumers in the grocery and food delivery setting. Retailers have long sought to charge the highest amount consumers are willing to pay for a product or service to maximize their profits. Today, the combination of advanced algorithms and troves of personal data on individual customers allow retailers to practice price discrimination, inferring the prices individual consumers are willing to pay and targeting their prices accordingly.

Surveillance pricing is a threat to privacy and fairness in the marketplace, especially when it is hidden from consumers. People have a right to know whether they are paying more than others for the same products and services. 

EPIC suggested further improvements to the New Jersey bill, including expanding the bill’s scope to include third-party delivery services and further clarifying exemptions for discounts and loyalty programs that New Jersey consumers enjoy.

EPIC has been urging lawmakers to regulate surveillance pricing and is helping states defend regulations in court.