New York AG James calling on legislature to pass legislation that would protect New Yorkers from predatory pricing schemes
ALBANY, NY- New York Attorney General Letitia James is rallying with other figures in calling on the legislature to pass a measure that would protect New Yorkers from predatory pricing schemes.
Known as the ‘One Fair Price Package,’ the proposed measure includes two bills, that would protect New Yorkers from surveillance pricing – an unfair pricing scheme in which companies use personal data to set individualized prices for consumers.
The first bill, known as the ‘One Fair Price Act,’ would ban surveillance pricing in New York. The second bill, known as the ‘Protecting Consumers and Jobs from Discriminatory Pricing Act,’ would ban the use of electronic shelf labels and prohibit surveillance pricing in grocery stores and pharmacies.
“When New Yorkers place an order online or go to the grocery store, they should be able to trust that they are seeing the same prices as everyone else, not an individualized price set by an algorithm,” said Attorney General James.
“At a time when New Yorkers are already facing higher prices everywhere they look, we must use every tool available to us to protect New Yorkers and keep costs down. I am grateful to Deputy Majority Leader Gianaris, Senator May, Assemblymember Torres, and Assemblymember Solages for their partnership in fighting to ban surveillance pricing and keep New York affordable.”
The One Fair Price Act (S.8623/A.9349) will ban surveillance pricing and prohibit the use of consumers’ personal data to set individualized prices to ensure New Yorkers are charged the same price for the same product.
The Protecting Consumers and Jobs from Discriminatory Pricing Act (S.8616/A.9396) will protect consumers and workers alike by prohibiting the use of ESLs and surveillance pricing in grocery stores and pharmacies.
According to Attorney General James, surveillance pricing, sometimes called algorithmic pricing, occurs when companies use individuals’ private data to set unique prices for different consumers, and often results in consumers paying more for essential products.
Online platforms collect thousands of data points about every consumer, from their usual purchases to when they receive their paycheck or benefits, to even how long they hover over a product online. Companies then use this information to inform pricing algorithms that continuously update to estimate the highest price a consumer is likely willing to pay at any given moment.
As a result, officials allege that two shoppers could visit the same website at the same time and see two different prices for the exact same product.
Research shows that surveillance pricing is already impacting everyday purchases, James' office claims.
A recent study involving hundreds of shoppers ordering groceries online found that 74 percent of grocery items were offered to consumers at multiple different prices, and some items were offered at up to five different prices at the same time.
Furthermore, surveillance pricing is not limited to shopping online. Electronic shelf labels (ESLs) allow companies to change prices in-store, so that one shopper could buy a gallon of milk at one price while another shopper would pay more for the same gallon later that same day.
ESLs not only harm consumers trying to make ends meet while prices continue to rise, but they also threaten the livelihoods of grocery store workers, as they could eliminate the work of grocery clerks, officials claim.
Letitia James image.
